iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Noah Parker van Rhyn Strunk was born exactly on his due date, Feb. 22, but he came into the world in a most unconventional way — in the parking lot of the hospital where he was supposed to be born.
His parents, Noah and Lauren Strunk, left their Jacksonville Beach, Florida, home around midnight on Wednesday for the short drive to a nearby hospital for the birth of their second child.
The couple was joined in a caravan to the hospital by Lauren’s mom and their birth photographer, Stephanie Knowles.
As Noah exited from the highway, Lauren’s contractions began to increase.
“He started going faster and I knew something was going wrong,” said Knowles, the owner of Jaiden Photography, who was driving behind the Strunks.
When Noah took a wrong turn that left him near the hospital’s emergency room instead of the maternity unit, Lauren told him to park the car immediately because the baby was on its way.
“She said to come over to her side to catch the baby, in her words, so I did,” Noah, 35, told ABC News. “Maybe a contraction or two later, our son was on Lauren’s chest.”
On hand to capture the minutes-long delivery was Knowles, who was photographing her first client birth photo shoot.
“It went through my head if I should put my camera down and help and then I said, ‘I’m just going to stand back,'” Knowles said. “That was my goal even before, just to stand back and capture the moments, so I just started shooting.”
The photos taken by Knowles show Parker resting on Lauren’s stomach with Noah by their side. The newborn came into the world at 12:21 a.m., weighing 7 pounds, 2 ounces.
“A very anxious moment of love,” Noah said of his son’s birth, adding that his emotions included “shock, awe, anxiety, love, all of it.”
Lauren, who had prepared for a natural childbirth, was taken by hospital medical personnel into the hospital for care with her son. Both mom and baby and older brother, Harrison, 3 are doing well.
The family is expecting to be discharged from the hospital tonight. The baby’s middle name, Parker, is a nod to his unconventional delivery location, his parents said.
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