GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A West Michigan family is soaking in the moments with the newborn daughter after she unexpectedly made her way into the world earlier this week on the side of a highway.
“She’s feisty,” said Hannah Houghton, Sophia’s mom. “She’s very expression-ative with her face; like, if she doesn’t like something you’ll know cause her whole face just scrunches up. She’s very boisterous. She’ll make little noises and then, she’s a cuddle.”
This past Thursday, Houghton, just shy of being 35-weeks pregnant, went into labor early.
Around 2:30 a.m., the Grand Rapids couple got in the car and headed toward the hospital.
“My contractions were two and half minutes apart, so I was like, ‘We’ll make it, we’ll make it,’” said Houghton.
However, within minutes of turning onto I-96W from Plainfield Avenue on the city’s northeast side, Houghton told Kaleb Pluchinsky, Sophia’s dad, to pull over. Houghton’s water had broken and she could feel the baby coming.
“He pulled the car over, rushed over to my side of the car, and had to go into extreme daddy mode I guess,” said Houghton. “He ended up delivering her right there.”
The couple says she came breeched too.
“You didn’t know what you were doing when you were delivering her correct?” asked FOX17.
“Not at all,” said Pluchinsky. “I had no clue. I knew that the baby had to come out and that’s about it.”
Not hearing any cries nor seeing any movement, from there, Houghton and Pluchinsky say they rushed to Saint Mary’s Hospital in Grand Rapids. They credit Kent County dispatchers and hospital staff for helping them making it through the rest.
“They were very informative,” said Pluchinsky. “They kept us calm and reassured us that everything was going to be fine.”
The parents are now focused on helping Sophia grow. Doctors expect her to come home some time in May.
“I definitely can’t wait to have her home,” said Pluchinsky.
