Pregnant and expecting at any moment, Melanie Nepsa spent most of a cold January day at an eastern Missouri hospital.
Ironic, then, that her baby was born in the passenger seat of a GMC Jimmy.
Shawn Mesey Jr., now 2 1/2 weeks old, is healthy and doing well after a hair-raising delivery on Jan. 4, the Park Hills Daily reported.
Nepsa went to Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Crystal City at 2:30 a.m. Jan. 4, but was sent home to Desloge. Her contractions began again in the afternoon, so she went back to the hospital. Again, doctors said she wasn't ready to deliver.
Nepsa hadn't been home 30 minutes when her contractions began again. Then her water broke.
Nepsa jumped in the passenger seat of the sport utility vehicle with her mom, Tina Skiles, at the wheel and her sister-in-law in the back. Nepsa's aunt and Shawn's other grandmother followed in another car.
After a quick stop for gas, they headed for the hospital. But before they got there, Nepsa began to feel pressure from the baby's head and the need to push. Minutes later, she announced, "He's here!"
Skiles checked and sure enough, the baby's head was emerging.
Shawn was born at 8:07 p.m., just as the vehicle pulled into the hospital parking lot.
"It was very scary, but it was very awesome," Skiles said.
Nepsa picked up the 5-pound, 3-ounce newborn and cuddled him to keep him warm until hospital staff came outside. A nurse cut the umbilical cord and put the baby on a heating pad.
"Luckily he was OK," Nepsa said. "I was panicking about that."
Those at the hospital tried to convince Nepsa to name the baby "Jimmy," but she decided on Shawn.
"I still can't believe I delivered my own kid," Nepsa said.
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Information from: Park Hills Daily Journal, http://www.dailyjournalonline.com.