SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — They thought they had more time, but a baby wasn’t going to wait to enter the world, so a growing family found a place known for its service — a Buc-ee’s.
Jena Birdsong told the “Today” show she had gone to bed on Nov. 13, but mild contractions started around 11:30 p.m., which woke her up. She allowed her husband, Nathan Birdsong, to sleep as she waited to see if the contractions would ease or get worse. When they got stronger in the middle of the night, the parents of two decided to head to the hospital, thinking they had enough time.
They also had to wait for Nathan’s parents to drive the 45 minutes to their home to watch the soon-to-be older siblings, KOLR reported.
But 20 minutes from home and about another 25 minutes from the hospital, her water broke.
“Things got really painful, really quickly,” she told the “Today” show.
They had called 911 as they drove, and came to a realization when looking for a place to pull off the highway.
“We’re going to end up at Buc-ee’s. That’s the next exit here” Nathan Birdsong told the 911 operator. “By the time I got on the off ramp on I-44, they transitioned me to a Mercy (hospital) representative to give me advice for the birth.”
At around 3:15 a.m., the parking lot at the Buc-ee’s was nearly empty.
“As soon as he opened my door, she was coming out,” Jena Birdsong said.
After only two pushes, baby Elaina Grace, the couple’s third baby, was born at 7 pounds, 1 ounce. About a minute after she was born, police arrived.
The new parents told KOLR that she was the biggest of their three babies.
But while her legal name is Elaina, her nickname is appropriately enough “Little Buc-ee.”
“Over the holidays, everyone kept saying, ‘Here’s Little Buc-ee,” Jena Birdsong said. “One of them got her a ‘Little Buc-ee’ Christmas ornament already!”
“We don’t go to Buc-ee’s often, but we do love getting gas there,” the parents told KOLR. “It’s going to be a great story.”
The story of Elaina’s birth will go down in the family history thanks to her birth certificate.
“It’s going to be fun to get the birth certificate. It’s going to say the location is Buc-ee’s, with the address on Beaver Road,” Jena Birdsong said.
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