Having their own children!
Heather Skaats, a Kentucky mother, did exactly that on May 15. Her five other children waited in the car as she gave birth on the side of the road.
“I was having light contractions before we left, so I figured I had time to run an errand,” Heather told TODAY Parents.
The 34-year-old mom noted that her due date was three weeks away and that she labored for several hours with her previous children.
“I thought I wouldn’t have a baby in my arms until eight or ten hours later,” Heather said.
However, her contractions suddenly intensified and started occurring very close together, indicating that she was already in labor.
Heather increased her speed in the hopes of having her home water birth go as planned, as she had in the past. She didn’t have enough time, as it turned out.
“I pulled over, convinced the kids that everything was fine, then grabbed my phone and exited the van,” she said.
Heather’s water broke as she was squatting on the ground near a green area.
“I put my fingers down there, and his head and body started coming out together,” she explained. “I didn’t have to push at all.” It happened so quickly. I was on the phone with my husband, Nick, and I was like, ‘He’s here!’ 20 seconds later.”
Heather caught her newborn, who weighed seven pounds. The baby boy started crying right away and opened his eyes to look at his momma.
She remembered, “I said, ‘Yeah, buddy, that was fun, huh?'” She wrapped him in a blanket as swiftly as she could.
Heather carefully returned to the car with the newborn still attached to her placenta, where her children, Kaelynn, 13, Aneleigh, 11, Austin, 6, Luke, 3, and Alyssa, 2, eagerly awaited the arrival of their new brother.
Heather and her husband also have a daughter, Leilah, who died of cancer at the age of four in 2016.
She explained, “I wrapped him in a blanket and drove with him close to my chest.” “I believe the youngsters were taken aback. They didn’t say much.”
Once they got home, Heather delivered her placenta in the shower with the help of her eldest, Kaelynn. About 10 minutes later, her midwives arrived, and they helped pick the grass off her baby’s skin.
It’s incredible how Heather managed to stay calm throughout the ordeal, but she credits it to experience.
“I think having home births in the past sort of taught me to trust my body,” she said. “Knowing the process really helped.”
Heather and her husband are still thinking of names for the newest addition to their family. They’re considering Porter or Wolf—the names of the streets near where he was born.
Heather shared the happy news on her Facebook.
“I’m still in shock that I delivered my own baby on the side of the road. But he is perfect, all of the kids are happy to have him here, and today was a day I will never forget,” she wrote.
Heather also said that her husband wasn’t too happy about missing the big moment.
“But at least he was on the phone with me when I called to say ‘I’m going to have a baby on the side of the road,’” she wrote.
This mom is a real champ. Congratulations on your new bundle of joy, Skaats family!
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