LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – A St. Johns couple had planned to deliver at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing but their baby girl had other plans.
Thankfully, an ER nurse didn’t miss a beat on Monday night!
Raye and Drew Sleep said the delivery of their daughter Ivy, while unusual, went amazingly well thanks to nurse Sydni Smith.
Raye said it was an intense car ride to Sparrow Hospital, a destination she could feel Ivy was not going to wait for.
“I was pretty uncomfortable and I knew the baby was coming quickly so I was doing everything I could to try and keep her in as long as possible,” she said.
Drew said Ivy’s birth was an unexpected yet magical way to mark his own birthday.
“So I pulled in and figured there would be no parking to begin with. Ran into the ER and told the security guard that ‘my wife is delivering a baby in the parking lot,’ well luckily Sydni was there behind the security guard,” said he said.
Smith was the first to come to the rescue, a parent, and 31 weeks pregnant herself, she wasted no time calling for extra hands from the labor and delivery department.
Ivy had already made her entrance into the world by the time other staff got to the first floor.
But Smith said there was a little extra help in the parking garage.
“It’s kind of ironic, every time before I go into work I always pray for a safe and healthy shift and to just be a better nurse every day and I feel like the prayers were answered that day, yesterday,” she said.
Sleep said it was the teamwork and Smith’s poise under pressure that helped make the experience that much easier.
“I never felt panic, I always felt like we were where we needed to be, do what we needed to do and we would be fine,” Sleep said.
Raye said baby Ivy will be going home this Wednesday to meet her four and two-year-old siblings.
