Woman gives birth on front lawn
Emily Johnson, from Vacaville, California, gave birth to her second son, Thomas, in her front lawn on Nov. 4. Her Ring video doorbell recorded the entire event.
Emily and Michael Johnson had no intention of recording the birth of their second son, Thomas.
However, Emily went into labor much faster than expected and she gave birth on the couple’s front lawn in Vacaville, California, and the entire ordeal was recorded on their Ring video doorbell.
Emily told Fox News that her contractions started on the evening of Nov. 4, and were 10 minutes apart for the first couple of hours. Because the Johnsons live about a mile or so from the hospital, Emily said that she and Michael were "pretty confident" they would make it there in time.
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Emily said her contractions suddenly went down to five minutes around 10:30 p.m. Within another 10 minutes or so, the contractions were two minutes apart, then one minute, right as the Johnsons were trying to pack up the car to head to the hospital.
Emily Johnson (pictured left, with her mom) gave birth to her second son, Thomas, in her front lawn on Nov. 4. (Courtesy of Michael and Emily Johnson)
"Once they hit that three, two, one and I’m standing at the car door and they started occurring every 30 seconds, I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m getting in this car, even for a five-minute drive,’" Emily told Fox News.
She said she was starting to sweat and was feeling nauseous, so she laid down in the grass of the front lawn.
Michael told Fox News that when she didn’t get into the car, he knew she was going to be giving birth at their house.
"As soon as she wouldn’t start moving, it was like, oh OK, this is going to happen here," Michael said. "I’m not going to be able to get her anywhere."
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A few minutes after she laid down, Emily’s mom pulled into the driveway to help take care of the Johnsons' 3-year-old son Blake.
"She was coming to get him," Emily said. "Not knowing that she was going to have to help us with the delivery."
Though Emily and her husband Michael hadn’t planned to film the birth of their second son, their Ring video doorbell recorded the entire ordeal. (Courtesy of Michael and Emily Johnson/Ring)
Once Emily’s mother arrived, they decided it was time to call 9-1-1. Michael, who used to be a first responder, followed the instructions from a dispatcher while they waited for an ambulance.
"I felt like a cow giving birth in a field," Emily said. "It was really bizarre and kind of primal. And at the same time, I was so uncomfortable. It was like, I can’t believe this is actually happening."
She added: "I was just like, ‘Oh my god, I’m giving birth on the lawn. This is not where I want to be.’"
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In the video, which was provided to Fox News, EMTs arrive just as Emily's mom announced that Thomas' head was out. One of the medics arrived and encouraged Emily to keep pushing. Seconds later, Thomas can be heard screaming.
Emily and Michael Johnson are pictured with their first son, 3-year-old Blake. (Courtesy of Michael and Emily Johnson) (Courtesy of Michael and Emily Johnson)
"Hearing him cry… right after he came out was like, ‘we’ve done it,’" Michael said, adding that Thomas’ cries were "very, very reassuring."
The EMTs took over from there, Michael said, and an ambulance brought Emily and Thomas to the hospital where they were cleaned up and taken care of.
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At that point, Michael remembered that while he was running between the house and the lawn to get towels for Thomas’ birth, he had noticed their Ring video doorbell was recording.
Once things had calmed down with Emily and Thomas at the hospital, Michael started to look back through the video and showed it to Emily and the nurses, Emily said.
Thomas Johnson was born on Nov. 4 in his parents front lawn. (Courtesy of Michael and Emily Johnson)
"It caught it all," Emily said, adding that she was thankful the video wasn’t too clear or detailed and that she was facing her car, rather than the house.
"If I was faced toward the house, the Ring camera wouldn’t have been able to be shared," Emily said.
Michael added: "It luckily was far enough away where nothing showed."
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Even though the couple hadn’t initially planned to record Thomas’ birth, Emily said she’s glad they have the video as a keepsake.
"It’ll just be a cool little family memento that we have of him and his experience," Emily said, joking that they’ll have it to show at his wedding or other big moments in his life.
Ultimately, Emily said the experience was "really surreal" and she’s glad no one came out of their house to see what was going on.
"I was very thankful afterwards that it was 10:30 at night and not 10:30 in the morning, when neighbors and delivery trucks are driving by."
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