Even During a Blizzard, the Babies Don`t Stop Coming

Jan. 28--They're known as blizzard babies -- newborn wonders who choose only the most chaotic introduction to begin their lives.

As schools were closed and roads looked like winterized ghost towns, about a dozen lives were celebrated at hospitals throughout the area.

Five babies were born at Beverly Hospital during the storm -- four from parents arriving during the blizzard, and one from a family on campus before the storm arrived, according to Rebecca Gadon, director of maternal newborn services and cancer services at Beverly Hospital.

By Tuesday afternoon, six babies were born at North Shore Medical Center in Salem, including one set of twins, according to Casey Chuy, senior marketing manager.

"It's been a very, very busy time in our birth place," Chuy said. "Everyone is safe, happy and healthy."

For each blizzard baby, there is a miracle and with it a lifetime of memories, according to Gadon.

"They all have interesting stories to tell," Gadon said. "For women having babies, in labor, there's always that thought in the back of your mind -- you don't want to have the baby while you're on the way to the hospital or stuck on the road."

One such family is thankful they lived right around the corner from a hospital, close enough to say it was in their neighborhood.

Still, it took about five minutes to get to Beverly Hospital once Micah Thomas Bartley decided it was time to make his entrance, according to his mother, Sarah Bartley.

"I was due on Sunday," Sarah said. "We wondered if this baby would be a pain... but we didn't expect this at all."

As Sunday came and went and news of the blizzard escalated, so too did Sarah Bartley's thinking that her son would be a blizzard baby.

"It probably sunk in Sunday morning, as there was a big storm coming, two or three feet of snow, and we were like, 'oh, man,'" Sarah said. "I had a pretty good idea that this baby was going to be born in the blizzard."

The family, which includes father Joe Bartley and 3-year-old son Silas, did their homework. They asked a family friend to stay at the house before the storm to watch Silas if necessary. A plow-faring neighbor was also at the ready if a trip to the hospital was necessary in the snow, according to Sarah.

That proved to be the case.

By 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, more than a foot of snow was on the ground when the Bartleys realized their son was moments away, according to Sarah Bartley.

"When I was ready to go in, thankfully we had really wonderful neighbors and one of them have a plow," the mother said. "We woke him up and he came out and drove ahead of our car so we could get to the hospital safely."

Some plowing was necessary to clear the poor road conditions near their home, Sarah Bartley said. What happened once they turned onto busier roads, however, is a mystery.

"I don't really remember that well," she said, laughing. "I couldn't quite see ahead of him. It was pretty hard for me and I wasn't feeling that great. I was pretty happy to be getting to the hospital."

The family was checked in by 8 a.m. and Micah was born by 11. He weighs 8 pounds, one ounce, according to Sarah.

"It's nice to have a fun story," she said. "We'll always have that fun story to tell him when he's older, about how exciting it was and how well we were cared for by our friends."

For Beverly news and story inquiries, email dluca@salemnews.com, call 978-338-2523 or message @DustinLucaSN on Twitter.

Copyright 2015 - The Salem News, Beverly, Mass.