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Heather Warren fully expected to give birth to her second child in a birthing room at Stony Brook Hospital around the time of her Aug. 31 due date.
She likes to make and stick to plans, she said at a special press event Thursday at SCPD headquarters in Yaphank.
Yet at 7:05 a.m on Aug. 19. she texted her mother that she believed her water broke.
As she began to go into labor, Warren’s husband, Christian Buduarjo, was packing the car because she was determined to make it to the hospital.
But Warren’s will was not as strong as that of her expected seven pound, nine ounce newborn, Kendall.
“This baby was determined to be delivered at home,” South Country Ambulance Chief of Department Greg Miglino said.
Warren delivered Kendall on her and Buduarjo’s kitchen floor just after 7:30 a.m. Aug. 19 with the help of Miglino, Suffolk County police officers Ryan Quarte and Jaime Tagliamonte, South Country Ambulance Assistant Chief of Operations Joseph Craig, paramedic Luis Salinas and EMTs Danielle Hanley and Anna Lasorsa.
The first responders who descended on the couple’s Bellport home that day to safely welcome Kendall into the world were reunited with the newborn, his parents and his older brother, Kennedy, Thursday.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and SCPD Acting Commissioner Stuart Cameron attended the event to thank the first responders for ensuring the safety and well-being of Kendall and Warren.
‘It felt like a lifetime’
Warren gave birth rather quickly, and first responders arrived just in time.
“They didn’t have to check her or anything, she just said ‘the baby’s coming now,'” Judie Warren, third on the scene alongside husband Kevin Warren, following Buduarjo’s parents, said. “And in less than three minutes time from when [the ambulance] got there, he was born.”
For Heather Warren, Buduarjo and all four of their parents, the surprisingly brief miracle of childbirth in the kitchen was followed by an eternity.
“It felt like a lifetime,” Judie Warren said.
But Heather Warren knew something was wrong when she did not hear Kendall cry.
She said she grew even more scared when the first responders were not answering her questions about what was wrong with her baby.
At the press conference, she thanked them because they were all focused on tending to Kendall, who was born with his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck.
Once it was removed, he was still in distress and required additional medical attention at the scene.
Warren, continuously rocking a very calm Kendall during the conference, said every cry she hears out of her baby is a relief and a gift.
After the press conference, a tearing Warren, Buduarjo, Kennedy and Kendell stuck around to thank the first responders more personally. Warren said she had brought cookies and cupcakes for them. She added that she appreciated their professionalism and respect during such a private moment.
“Thank you for giving me respect and privacy in not my best moment,” she said.
“It was your best moment,” Miglino replied. “You delivered a beautiful baby.”
