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With one of his wife's legs propped against the dashboard of their Volkswagen Jetta and the other out the door, Ben Marsden's first reaction was to panic.
But just looking at him about 2 a.m. Monday, his wife, Ashley, said she had no idea how scared and nervous he really was.
She was too busy yelling and doing enough panicking for the both of them.
"I screamed at him, 'The baby is coming!' " she recounted from the quiet safety of her McKay-Dee Hospital room on Tuesday morning.
Just before the birth, Ben, 30, was rushing at speeds of at least 90 mph, trying to get Ashley to the hospital in time to give birth to their fourth child, a boy.
Hawk Benjamin Marsden, who was not due until next week, had other ideas. Ashley, 31, had awakened in the middle of the night with contractions.
"We were planning a hospital birth," Ashley said. "I had prepared the whole pregnancy for a hypno birth, a calm, relaxing entrance into the world."
In between two Interstate 15 Ogden exits and within about five minutes of leaving their South Willard home, Ashley and Ben — and 911 dispatcher Robin Carpenter, with Weber Area Dispatch, who was on the phone — realized they weren't going to make it. Ben pulled over to the side of the freeway.
"I lost all sense of calm and relaxation," Ashley said. "It was not what I wanted it to be, by any means. I think [Ben] could tell by the sound of my voice that it was time to pull over."
Carpenter, a dispatcher for about 2.5 years, started to coach Ben. It was her first emergency baby delivery.
"When I first got the call, naturally I was a little bit nervous but I just went into a focus mode," Carpenter said Tuesday afternoon. "I just kept thinking we can do this. The dad did so good. He really did a great job. He was calm. He did everything he was supposed to do."
Ben spotted the child's head and following Carpenter's instructions, helped guide his son into the world, carefully placing him in Ashley's arms.
"I just went straight into mommy mode," Ashley said. "He was beautiful and perfect."
Carpenter said she remembers hearing Hawk's first cry.
"It was honestly one of the most amazing things I'd ever heard," she said. "It was really a great feeling. After this experience I've had a smile on my face that you can't wipe off since it happened. It's a permanent smile. If I had to do it all over again, I'd do it in a heartbeat."
Ashley said she zoned out while Ben tried to find something to tie off the umbilical cord. Carpenter recommended a shoelace, but those were in short supply — Ben was wearing flip flops; Ashley, slippers.
He used the elastic that goes around the sunshade to act as a makeshift tie.
Police and paramedics arrived moments later.
The couple's other three children were with a baby sitter during their brother's dramatic entrance. They were thrilled to meet their new sibling later.
Carpenter said she hasn't met Hawk but later saw a photo of the boy she helped deliver.
"We're total strangers but something like that, immediately you just feel a bond," she said. "It's really neat."
As an interesting twist of fate, Hawk arrived Sept. 19, the same day Ashley's birth had sneaked up on her mother 31 years before, forcing Ashley's mother to give birth to her at home.
As the proud parents recovered Tuesday, Ashley said Ben decided he'll gladly keep his day job as an IRS computer program analyst.
"He never wants to do that again," she said. "He never wants to be a doctor. His delivery days are over."
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