San Bernardino

‘Bonding Experience': Mother Helps Daughter Deliver Baby at SoCal Gas Station

"It was a bonding experience. It was amazing. I delivered my grandson!"

An Inland Empire woman gave birth at a SoCal gas station early Monday morning, but instead of panicking, she stayed calm and delivered a healthy baby boy thanks to a lot of help from her mom.

"I think as a mom your job is never done ... you're always protecting your kids," Kaylee Atkins said.

Atkins confirmed that statement on Monday morning, when she went to Kaiser Hospital in Fontana because she thought she was about to deliver her son Rex.

"They told me I wasn't in labor so my mom took me to her house," she said.

But within an hour of getting back to her mom's Crestline home, things started happening fast.

The pair got back in the car to head back to the hospital, but Atkins knew she "was not going to make it."

Her mom, Tracey Holt, also had a feeling they didn't have much time.

"She's telling me she's getting sick so she's opening the car window and screaming out the car window," Holt said.

Rex wasn't waiting any longer so Holt pulled over at a Shell gas station, which was closed at the time. It was a scary situation for any pregnant woman, but Atkins says she wasn't worried because her mother is a nurse.

"I had the best qualified person there to help me," Atkins said.

Holt went into "nurse mode" and "kept the patient calm."

"I got out of the car, I laid down on that ground and started pushing. He was out within seconds of me getting out of the car," Atkins said.

Holt wiped off Rex's mouth, nose and back and placed him on his daughter's chest. That's when the ambulance showed up.

It was Holt's first time helping anyone deliver a baby.

Atkin's 4-year-old son Troy couldn't be more pleased to have little Rex in his life.

"I'm really happy to have a brother," Troy said.

And he's happy to have a mom and grandma who proved that it doesn't matter what age you are, when you're a mom you're always protecting your kids.

"It was a bonding experience. It was amazing. I delivered my grandson. It was just awesome!" Holt said.

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