This punctual little newborn couldn’t wait to get to hospital for his due date – arriving rather too promptly at the side of a Suffolk road.
Instead of on a hospital bed, little Lenny burst into the world in the passenger’s seat of a BMW 3 Series, parked in a layby between Hadleigh and Ipswich, where he was greeted by the surprised faces of his mother, father and grandmother.
The 8lb 2oz bundle of joy was so eager to make his due date, that he arrived on Saturday morning with the encouragement of only two pushes.
Lenny’s mum, Emma Sage, felt the first signs of her son’s arrival at home in Hadleigh that morning.
The stay-at-home mum was woken at about 7am by a combination of pain and her stirring two-year-old daughter, Dolly.
Just 75 minutes later, Lenny was being delivered with the help of Emma’s partner, Darren Jackson, and her mum, Joan.
“I woke up and thought I must be starting to have contractions” said the 32-year-old.
“There were no gaps between the contractions, so we phoned the hospital and were told to come straight in.”
Mr Jackson, 36, a painter and decorator, drove himself and Emma to Ipswich Hospital – stopping on the way in Elmsett, where they dropped Lenny’s older sister off to stay with her grandfather.
While in Elmsett, Emma’s mother, who was also due to fulfil the role of birthing partner, climbed in the back seat for the rest of the journey.
Emma said: “Just as we passed the garage in Hintlesham, I felt the head.
“Darren pulled over into a layby. As he and my mum jumped out of the car, I could feel the head coming out.”
Mr Jackson phoned the ambulance service and received advice from call handlers.
By that point, Lenny was already on his way – emerging in the front seat of the car at 8.15am.
“Darren was being talked through it over the phone, but the baby came after two pushes,” said Emma.
“Then an ambulance arrived, we got in, and were blue-lighted across the Orwell Bridge to hospital.
“My daughter was a week early and I was in labour for 15 hours, so I wasn’t expecting my second to be late, but I had no idea he’d arrive so quickly.”
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