A Minnesota couple spent their Christmas in the most unexpected way: on the side of a road in frigid temperatures as the newest addition to their family entered the world.
On Christmas morning, Taylor and Hannah Lindeman watched on as their daughters, 5-year-old Lilly and 3-year-old Dahlia, began to open their presents, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.
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When it was finally the adults’ turn to unwrap their gifts, Hannah couldn’t get through hers because her contractions grew more frequent and “much more painful.”
The couple then left Taylor’s parents’ house in Chisago for United Hospital in St. Paul, a 45-minute drive away.
Taylor called the hospital to let them know they were on their way, but Hannah soon instructed him to call ambulance instead.
“So I called the ambulance and stayed on the line and then eventually had to stop to have the ambulance find us, because they said if I keep driving they couldn’t continue following me,” he said.
Taylor pulled over on a windswept highway and assisted his wife from the passenger side of the car with the ambulance dispatcher on speaker phone in negative 2-degree weather. Her water broke while they were on the phone with the dispatcher, and two minutes later, baby Poppy was born at 20.5 inches long and 6 pounds, 8 ounces.
“She’s our biggest baby yet,” Taylor said.
A local police officer arrived about a minute or two after Poppy was born, and Taylor closed the passenger door to the car and cranked up the heat while the three waited for an ambulance.
The officer then cut a shoelace from Hannah’s boot and tied off the umbilical cord, per the emergency dispatcher’s instructions.
Poppy’s birth varied substantially from the births of the couple’s first two children, Taylor said. When Lilly was born, Hannah was in labor for up to nine hours, while it took up to 90 minutes to deliver Dahlia.
“We weren’t really expecting today to be the delivery, but obviously she had other plans,” Taylor said of his youngest daughter.
(H/T: Minnesota Star Tribune)