A Raleigh couple gave birth in the parking lot of a Dunkin’ Donuts minutes before first responders arrived.
Morgan Hudgins and Michael Holley said their daughter, Layla, was born at 1:58 a.m. Nov. 2 at the Dunkin’ on the corner of Durant Road and Capital Boulevard. She arrived two weeks ahead of schedule, weighing 7 pounds, 6 ounces.
Hudgins said she started having labor pains at home, but had no idea how quickly things would progress.
“That night, around 9:30 p.m., I had a little back pain,” Hudgins said. “But in my mind I was like, ‘No, I still have two weeks left. I’m just sore.’ ”
She went to bed around 10:30 p.m. but woke up a few hours later.
“I woke up, still hurt, at 12:30 a.m.,” Hudgins said.
That’s when she tried to take a shower.
“From the shower, it was like, ‘OK, no, let’s go to the hospital,'” Hudgins recalled. “Before I could even leave the house, I started having to push. I kind of settled into the car because I knew it was probably going to happen in the car.”
Holley was on the phone with 911 as they rushed to the hospital.
“(The 911 operators) were trying to get him to stop, but I wouldn’t let him,” Hudgins said, hoping they could get to the hospital faster than the paramedics could greet them.
However, less than 20 minutes into the ride, the baby’s head was out.
“The Dunkin’ Donuts were right there,” Hudgins said. “He stopped and jumped in the passenger side, and he was a champ.”
That’s when a scary moment became even more intense.
Holley said he noticed the baby’s color wasn’t right. During the delivery, he saw the umbilical cord partially around her neck.
“Only its head was sticking out, but you could see it getting bluer,” he said. “It was definitely a scary moment.”
“At that point, I couldn’t tell how bad it was because I couldn’t see her the way he did,” Hudgins said. “He’s trying to push me, and at first I couldn’t do it. Then my body finally gave me what I needed and I pushed her out.”
Holley gave birth in the Dunkin parking lot. He untangled the umbilical cord and began rubbing baby Layla’s chest when he noticed how quiet she was.
“At first she didn’t really cry and that’s what was really stressing me out,” Holley said.
“The ambulance arrived a few minutes later, expecting me to still be pushing a baby out,” Hudgins said. “To their surprise, the baby was on my chest and he was stimulating her to make her breathe.”
Holley and Layla went to the hospital together and Hudgins got in a separate ambulance.
“I said to myself, ‘You better go with her, everything will be fine,'” she recalls.
Layla’s oxygen levels were closely monitored at the hospital, but she and her parents were able to return home a few days later.
Hudgins and Holley, who also have a 12-month-old at home, said they were tired but doing well.
According to Hudgins, big sister Lola is in love with Layla. The girls’ birthdays are only a few weeks apart.
“She gives him all the kisses in the world,” Hudgins said.
The couple said they work as a team to care for their little ones, and that helps Hudgins’ parents and grandparents live next door.
To celebrate Layla’s arrival, their friend had Dunkin’ Donuts delivered to the family the day they returned from the hospital.
Layla’s new nickname is, fittingly, “Munchkin.” His birth certificate records list Dunkin’ Donuts as his birthplace. Instead of a doctor, Holley is listed as the person who delivered the baby.
It’s a moment the couple will always remember.
“He kept his composure very well,” Hudgins said. “We did what we had to do. We had no choice.”
“I’m glad this is our second baby, otherwise it would have been more stressful,” Holley said.
Congratulations to the new parents and big sister!
Gn bussni
