When filling in the place of birth section on her son's birth certificate, Samantha Warren had to stop and think about it for a minute. Would "the back of an ambulance west of Saskatoon" fit in the space?
Warren's son Aiden was born in an ambulance en route to Saskatoon at 12:39 p.m. March 28.
His twin brother Kayden was born at 1:23 p.m. at Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon.
Aiden spent two weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit, and Kayden was there a week and a half. Now both babies are home in North Battleford with Mom, Dad and big brother Drayton, age two.
"I'm glad they're both home and safe. It's definitely a different experience having them in the NICU instead of bringing them home with you from the hospital," Warren said.
The babies were born at 34 weeks and five days, just over a month before full term and two weeks before the C-section scheduled for April 14.
Warren had noticed her water leaking March 27, and the next morning decided to go the hospital in North Battleford. They directed her to Saskatoon as a precaution, so she and her fiancé hit the highway.
"By the time I got to Maymont, my contractions were five minutes apart," Warren said.
"Leaving North Battleford, I thought, OK, if this is it, it will be OK. We'll get to Saskatoon. Once it started to be non-stop contractions I started to get really scared, knowing I could have a baby in my van."
Warren's mother Shelley was checking in with her daughter during the journey via cell phone.
It was a very anxious time, she said.
"We were very worried and concerned because each phone call was getting worse," she said.
"It started out that everything was fine, just a little bit of pain. Then the last we heard was, 'I need help,'"
At that point, Shelley called the ambulance and directed them to meet her daughter in Langham.
It was an anxious time for A.J. Klippenstein as well.
Driving his fiancée down Highway 16 at breakneck speeds while getting advice on how to deliver a baby was not the way Klippenstein, a drywaller with Steiner's Drywalling, had planned to spend his Monday.
"When you're driving that speed in and out of traffic, dodging vehicles, trying to stay out of the ditch, and they start talking about how to deliver a baby, you go from shock to panic," he said.
"Some things I can do, I'm good at, but delivering a baby while I'm driving isn't at the top of the list."
It was a huge relief for Klippenstein when first responders from Langham arrived and the ambulance came a few minutes later.
Soon after Warren was into the ambulance with an IV in her arm, Aiden was born.
Klippenstein said the ambulance personnel did a great job.
"They took control of the situation," he said.
"The way the one EMT wrapped up Aiden in a blanket, and the way he looked at him, just took all my worries away, all the worries and nerves of the last half hour up to then. He looked at Aiden like he was his own. He was in good hands," he said.
Now the boys are home and growing fast - Aiden was 4 lbs. 8 oz. at birth, while Kayden was 5 lbs. 13 oz. As of last week, Kayden had grown to 6 lbs. 7 oz. and Aiden was 4 lbs. 14 oz.
"I'm glad it's over," said Klippenstein.
