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Baby born in car on way to hospital; dad catches whole thing on camera

Posted at 12:53 PM, Jul 20, 2015
and last updated 2015-07-20 12:53:46-04

HOUSTON -- A Texas couple captured their baby’s birth on camera, as they were headed to the hospital for delivery.

Their baby boy couldn’t wait for the comforts of a hospital, and he entered the world as his dad drove his mom to the hospital.

It was certainly not how they planned their son's birth.

"Just keep her calm, me getting all worked up isn't going to help her any,” said father Jonathan Pettijohn.

It was Lesia Pettijohn who told her husband to film the birth.

"If it would have been my first, I probably would've just died,” she said.

Texas couple captured their baby’s birth on camera, as they were headed to the hospital for delivery.

In the three-minute video Lesia goes from contractions, to her water breaking, to full on labor in the front seat of the family car on the beltway heading to Pasadena Hospital.

"I was probably freaking out way more than I should have,” she said. “But I really didn't want to have him in the car. I was scared. I didn't know if he'd be breathing okay."

The couple did not know the sex of their baby until he was delivered.

It's their third child and finally a boy, they said. Josiah, they named him, weighed in at 10 pounds, three ounces.

"If it would have been my first, I probably would've just died,” she said.

"He came really quick,” said Jonathon. “With our other two, it took more than an hour after the water broke.”

The couple was already planning on a natural birth.

They also answered a popular question many people have.

Lesia, Jonathon and baby Josiah Pettijohn

Lots of people have asked why did Jonathan keep driving?

"For one thing, we don't have a cell phone with service, so we couldn't have called anyone if I would've pulled over,” he said.”Number two, she said she wanted me to keep driving."

"Once he was out I was like I gotta push the rest of him out and grab him and pick him up and I was like ‘what do I do, what do I wrap him in?’ My shirt is pretty long I will wrap him up in that," Lesia recounted.

Now not even a week, old little Josiah is an internet sensation.
"He's gonna be famous before he even knows his own name,” his proud father said. “It's in Norway -- it's amazing. I can't believe so many people want to see something like that.”