OREM, Utah -- An Orem couple welcomed their baby boy to the world Monday on the side of the road with help from a 911 dispatcher.
Kelly and Mike Anderson were hoping to give birth at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, but baby Benjamin decided 1600 S. State St. was a better spot.
Kelly said she wasn't due for two weeks, but just before 6 a.m. Monday, she said: "I was making enough noise that Mike woke up."
The contractions were strong enough the couple grabbed their two daughters and dashed out the door for the hospital. However, less than 10 minutes into the drive they knew things were getting serious.
"Kelly says, 'I don't think we can drop the kids off at your sister's,'" Mike Anderson said.
"Yeah, he pulled over because I told him to," Kelly added.
Their kids were along for the ride as Kelly's water broke. They pulled into a Texaco parking lot, and, in the passenger seat with her feet on the dashboard, Kelly went into labor. Her husband was on the phone with 911 at the time.
Dispatcher: "Do you see any part of the baby yet?"
Mike Anderson: "No."
Dispatcher: "Do you have any shoe laces in the car that you can tie the cord with?"
Mike Anderson: "Yes."
Mike Anderson said he was grateful for that help.
"I think, she talking to me, telling me things, made a big difference," he said.
Dispatcher: "OK, as the baby delivers, I need you to support the baby's head and the shoulders and hold the hips and legs firmly. The baby is going to be slippery, so don't drop it, OK?"
Mike Anderson: "OK."
With only a rag to wrap their newborn, baby Benjamin suddenly came into the world.
Mike Anderson: "I got the baby! I got the baby! I got the baby! I got the baby!"
Dispatcher: "You got the baby?"
Mike Anderson: "I got the baby! I got the baby! I got the baby!"
Dispatcher: "Is the baby breathing?"
Mike Anderson: "Yup. Baby's breathing."
"I was just stoked that it was over," Mike Anderson said. "It was the best because the paramedics were there at that point."
When the Anderson's 4-year-old daughter saw her newborn brother, "she was really excited, she said mom! A baby! A baby!," Kelly Anderson said.
Benjamin Norman Anderson is 7 pounds, 8 ounces.
"His health is good and he's just cute as can be," Kelly Anderson added.
