Just an hour into seriously uncomfortable labor, it seemed Shannon Dennett still had plenty of time before her baby arrived.
But, with Dennett and her husband still blocks from St. Joseph Hospital in Denver on Thursday morning, the baby had other ideas.
“I just unbuckled the seat belt and had a baby,” Dennett said. “I just sort of scooped her up with my hands.”
Meet Aubrey Jane — 7 pounds, 14 ounces, 19.5 inches long — and at least 20 minutes early.
“It was really sort of miraculous,” said Dennett, 27. “She is just perfect.”
Dennett first started having contractions in her Castle Rock home about 4:20 a.m. Thursday. Husband Kyle quickly arranged for a neighbor to look after their other two kids, and they began the roughly 35-mile drive to Denver.
“Everything was going along fine,” Kyle said. “We still thought we had time.”
But on Interstate 25 near Downing Street, Shannon’s water broke.
“It was definitely exciting,” she said.
Kyle dialed 911 at 5:25 a.m. Paramedics, police and firefighters arrived in short order, but after Aubrey Jane.
“With the next contraction, I felt pressure, and she kind of just came,” Shannon said.
“I caught her with my hands and pulled her up and cradled her in my arms. She cried right away.”
With Christmas fast approaching, the couple feel as if they’ve been especially blessed.
Aubrey Jane has the same birthday as her older sister, Adelyn, who turned 4 Thursday. The couple also have a 22-month-old son, Ryland.
“I was thinking: You only see this on the news,” Kyle said. “This can’t be happening to us.”
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
