A sixth-grade teacher from Denver, Colorado, is now the proud mother of a baby girl, but her birth story turned out to be the furthest thing from what she'd imagined. Lindsay Agbalokwu, who teaches English in the DSST: Conservatory Green in Stapleton, thought she had a little more time before her daughter was due to arrive later this month. But on Friday, she had the surprise of a lifetime when her baby girl decided to come early, and the teacher suddenly gave birth on the sidewalk outside her school.
Agbalokwu was at work on September 6 when she suddenly went into labor.
According to Denver 7, Agbalokwu wasn't due until September 17, which is why she initially dismissed the labor pains as Braxton Hicks contractions. But as it turned out, she was mistaken.
Agbalokwu went about her day as usual, even handing out an award at a school assembly. At that point, she realized she'd misjudged her own pain. Once the ceremony was over, she went back to her classroom and things "went from zero to 100," she later told Denver 7.
"All of a sudden, it was just so much pressure and pain, I was like, 'I think she's coming now! I think we need to just call 911,'" she said.
Agbalokwu quickly asked her co-teacher to cover her classroom, before going to the bathroom and preparing to book it to the hospital ASAP.
Co-teacher Marissa Kast then alerted Principal Natalie Lewis and Dean of Students Chris Earls, who rushed to help Agbalokwu out of the building. But by then, the mom-to-be knew she was in a real pickle, as labor started progressing so rapidly, Agbalokwu could barely move.
Acting quickly, Kast grabbed a sleeping bag from her car and laid it down on the sidewalk for Agbalokwu to lie down on. Meanwhile, Lewis called 911.
“I lay down and we put the dispatcher on speaker phone, who started giving delivery instructions to Natalie and Chris,” Agbalokwu recalled.
In the end, little baby Zara couldn't wait any longer -- she made her big entrance right there on the sidewalk.
Luckily, firefighters arrived on the scene at the last minute and helped the teacher make it through her labor. But even so, the group had a few “terribly painful minutes" there, while Lewis attempted to coach Agbalokwu through her pain.
As for any embarrassment she might've felt in the moment? That went right out the window, the new mom said.
"I was in so much pain, I didn't care that these people are my bosses — they are both parents," Agbalokwu told The Daily Mail. "They were my support people."
Moments later, little Zara was born, right outside her mother's school. They didn't stay there for long, of course — both mom and baby were soon rushed to the hospital for further care.
Agbalokwu is still in shock about how the whole thing went down, and still can't believe it.
"I just like randomly think about it and text my mom, 'I just gave birth on the sidewalk outside my school!'" she told reporters. "This is so crazy!"
Zara was clearly on her own schedule, her mom jokingly added, saying, "When she was ready, she just said, 'Boom. I'm coming out.'"
Agbalokwu and Zara are now at home with the rest of the family, Agbalokwu's husband and their 17-month-old son, but she doesn't think she'll get over her daughter's unique birth story anytime soon. In fact, she thinks it's a sign of what little Zara might be like in the future.
"I think it will be indicative of her personality to come," she told Yahoo. "That she will be a firecracker. She's going to do great things."
