A.J. Ellis’ wife, Cindy, deserves a standing ovation, because she managed to give birth in car as she and her husband tried to get to the hospital.
Call it horrible timing or a baby who couldn’t wait to be born, but the Ellis clan welcomed its third child on a Milwaukee highway as the Dodgers catcher sped down the road at 75 miles per hour.
The 31-year-old catcher told his remarkable tale to ESPN The Magazine‘s Molly Knight, recounting quite the interesting delivery method.
It seems Cindy has a favorite doctor, who was about 30 miles away from the couple’s Milwaukee home. The two also had to wait for Cindy’s sister to get to the house to take care of their other children, daughter Ainsley, 4, and son Luke, 2.
While Ellis was away during the birth of his first two children, he would not be absent during any part of his third child’s welcoming into the world.
The couple were ready to go at about 7:25 a.m., but Cindy’s contractions were about 45 seconds apart—not that A.J. was all that worried:
And I’m thinking, this is 2012, not the ‘Oregon Trail.’ Of course we’re gonna make it. So I’m calmly telling her we’re making it. I figured she was just panicking because she was in excruciating pain.
As A.J. drove down Interstate 43 at speeds he estimated at 75 miles per hour, his wife lay in the reclined front passenger seat in extreme pain.
About 18 miles from the hospital, Cindy said she could feel their child’s head.
A very eager Audrey Elizabeth Ellis was born about a minute later. At that time, Cindy swaddled her newborn in a jacket and the usually calm and collected A.J. freaked out.
“Cindy went into instant mom mode, totally calm and wrapping Audrey in her jacket,” Ellis said. “Meanwhile I’m panicking and screaming. Cindy was the absolute hero.”
All three arrived at the hospital, where mom and baby girl were sent to recovery, both reportedly in excellent health.
The offseason, it seems, can be far more surprising and wonderful than you would think.
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