Parents Deborah Martens and Scott Bruce were anticipating their bundle of joy – it was the home delivery that surprised them.
At about 3:50 a.m. on Jan. 6, Martens woke up to labour pains at the couple’s Roberts Creek home. They called Marten’s mother, who lives nearby and who would care for their two older daughters during the birth at Sechelt Hospital.
“That was the plan,” said Martens.
But the parents didn’t get far.
They dressed, grabbed their bag, and after a few quick calls, headed out the door, recalled Martens.
“We hung up the phone. We tried to make our way to the car. I couldn’t walk anymore, and I said, ‘You need to call 911, we’re having the baby here.’
“I remember trying not to push, but my body was just like, no, this is happening right now. This is not in your control.”
Shortly after, their baby was born on the porch at the front entrance of their home, at 4:18 a.m.
“I remember saying, it’s a boy,” said Bruce.
He pulled off his hoodie and wrapped it around his son to protect him from the cold and the rain.
“It did feel really powerful in the moment… He didn’t cry. He just came out, looked around, super calm. Deb was super calm throughout.”
Within minutes, Martens’ mom arrived, and in amazement told the parents, “I guess I shouldn’t have brushed my teeth.”
Soon came the paramedics and their midwife to assist with cutting the cord and finishing the procedure, which took place inside on their living room couch.
Their new boy weighed in at 7 lbs. 2 oz. and measured 20.5 inches. Everyone was deemed healthy enough to stay put.
“At that moment it just all fell into place,” said Martens. “You just feel more confident in the decisions you’re making when you have a professional there.”
They also felt fortunate this was their third and not their first experience with birth.
Remarkably, their two older girls slept through the entire process.
On Jan. 8 the parents chose his name: Griffin Forrest Russell Bruce.
Before then, Porchey had stuck, said Martens, a moniker given by her nephew. And that front porch is nearly as new to the parents as their baby – they just moved in last September.
“It kind of stamps it,” said Bruce.
Martens said given it was Jan. 6, they were just as surprised to find out theirs was the first Sunshine Coast baby of the decade.
“We’re just so excited that it happened with such power and force, but also calm. And everything was normal. How incredible is that?”
