{"id":6783,"date":"2025-01-17T01:14:55","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T01:14:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/?p=6783"},"modified":"2025-01-17T01:15:21","modified_gmt":"2025-01-17T01:15:21","slug":"mother-sells-dead-sons-crib-buyer-returns-week-later-and-says-look-in-trunk-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/archives\/6783","title":{"rendered":"Mother Sells Dead Son\u2019s Crib, Buyer Returns Week Later And Says \u2018Look In Trunk\u2019 (VIDEO)"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class='\"entry-header\"'>\n<div class='\"entry-content\"'>\n<p>When Valarie Watts delivered her stillborn son in July, she was heartbroken. Still grieving, she decided to part with most of the items she\u2019d bought in anticipation of bringing Noah home.\n</p><p>However, she was unwilling to let go of the white crib, and decided to exclude it from the garage sale she held last month. However, when retiree Gerald Kumpula saw it, he asked to buy it.\n</p><p>28-year-old Watts hesitated, but finally relented when she heard that 75-year-old Gerald was a craftsman who made benches from secondhand footboards and headboards\n</p><p><img decoding='\"async\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/www.opposingviews.com%5C/.image%5C/t_share%5C/MTg3NTE4NDM0MDA5OTQ5NDM5%5C/baby2.png%5C%22" alt='\"Photo' credit: fox minneapolis-st. paul>\n</p><p>\u201cI was a little bit at peace with it because he\u2019d be making something nice,\u201d Watts said. She parted with it for $2.Watts had a conversation with Lorene, Gerald\u2019s wife, and she shared her heartbreaking story after Lorene saw the newborn clothes at the sale and asked Watts how old her son was.\n</p><p>On the way home, Lorene shared Watts\u2019 story with Gerald. The Kumpulas, who have 15 kids and dozens of grandchildren, knew that the crib belonged with Watts. A week later, the couple delivered a bench to Watts made from the crib.Speaking to TODAY.com, Watts said: \u201cIt\u2019s beautiful. I thought, \u2018There\u2019s still kind people out there.\u2019\u201d\u00a0Photo Credit:\u00a0FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. PaulShe placed the bench in her living room, where she can remember Noah.\u201cI\u2019m overwhelmed with joy that it\u2019s not just sitting somewhere unused,\u201d she said. \u201cNow I can sit in it, hold his bear, think about him if I need to.\u201dWatts had felt less fetal movement in the final days of her full-term pregnancy, and Noah was delivered on July 22 via cesarean section, just hours Watts and fianc\u00e9 Jimi Hamblin learned that there was no heartbeat. According to doctors, the umbilical cord became compressed, depriving Noah of oxygen.\u00a0Photo Credit:\u00a0FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul\n</p><p>The Kumpulas, whose first granddaughter was stillborn, understood Watts\u2019 pain better than most.\n</p><p>\u201cAn unused crib is a sad reminder,\u201d Gerald said. \u201cA bench is more of a memorial. It\u2019s part of that sad happening, yet it\u2019s not a reminder like a crib would be, an empty crib.\u201dWatts offered to pay him, but Gerald refused.\u201cIt\u2019s just nice to be able to do something for someone. It\u2019s nice to help people,\u201d he said.\u00a0Photo Credit:\u00a0FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. PaulWatts has a 7-year-old daughter, Nevaeh, and will be marrying Hamblin this fall. She stated that the bench \u2013 which sits near a corner bookcase that holds Noah\u2019s photos, his handprints, footprints, and ashes \u2013 is helping her cope with grief.\u201cIn a way, when I\u2019m sitting in it, I feel comforted by his presence, even though he\u2019s not here,\u201d Watts, a babysitter, said. \u201cIt\u2019s like a peaceful, it\u2019s-OK type feeling. When I feel down, I can sit on the bench and I feel OK, everything\u2019s going to be OK.\u201d\n</p><p><img decoding='\"async\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/www.opposingviews.com%5C/.image%5C/t_share%5C/MTg3NTE4NDM0MDEwMDE1NjMx%5C/baby5.png%5C%22" alt='\"Photo' credit: fox minneapolis-st. paul>\n</p><p><img decoding='\"async\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/www.opposingviews.com%5C/.image%5C/t_share%5C/MTg3NTE4NDM0MDA5OTUwMDk1%5C/baby4.png%5C%22" alt='\"Photo' credit: fox minneapolis-st. paul>\n</p><p><img decoding='\"async\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/www.opposingviews.com%5C/.image%5C/t_share%5C/MTg3NTE4NDM0MDEwMDgwNTEx%5C/baby3.png%5C%22" alt='\"Photo' credit: fox minneapolis-st. paul>\n</p><p><iframe loading='\"lazy\"' title='\"Stillborn' baby transformed crib helps mother heal src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/www.youtube.com%5C/embed%5C/JThvSUFFFUY?feature=oembed%5C%22" width='\"900\"' height='\"506\"' frameborder='\"0\"' allowfullscreen='\"allowfullscreen\"' data-mce-fragment='\"1\"'>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Valarie Watts delivered her stillborn son in July, she was heartbroken. Still grieving, she decided to part with most of the items she\u2019d bought in anticipation of bringing Noah home. However, she was unwilling to let go of the white crib, and decided to exclude it from the garage sale she held last month. 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