Sobbing dad watches baby’s birth on FaceTime at airport, following flight delay

While most parents are able to plan ahead and ensure they’re present at their baby’s birth, not everyone has that opportunity.

“We heard the baby cry”

Brooks Lindsay for instance. The emotional soldier was captured witnessing the birth of his child via FaceTime. The events unfolded as the transfixed dad watched from the floor of an airport in another city, following an unexpected flight delay. 

“This Army soldier was on my delayed flight home yesterday,” Facebook user Tracy Dover posted alongside an image of a gobsmacked Brooks staring into his phone. “He had to watch the birth of his daughter on FaceTime. He was crying and our hearts were breaking. We all gave him space. When we heard the baby cry, we all rejoiced for him. I wanted to share this because I never want us to forget about our soldiers who serve us everyday and the sacrifices they make.”

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A blessing in disguise

While it’s very regrettable that Brooks was not able to be in the room when his baby entered the world, his wife Haley says they were over the moon that he got to watch the birth at all!

Brooks was far from home, awaiting deployment from the US to Kuwait, as pregnant wife Haley waited to deliver their baby at home. Haley and Brooks were both prepared for the fact that Brooks would not be at the birth at all, noting that the Red Cross only allowed soldiers to fly home urgently if there were complications and the birth was an emergency.

When Haley headed off to her scheduled antenatal appointment to discuss a possible induction after a very normal pregnancy, she was preparing to deliver without her hubby by her side. But, doctors soon discovered Haley’s blood pressure was sky high, with tests revealing she had pre-eclampsia and needed to be induced ASAP.

Haley’s admission was promptly scheduled for an hour later, and suddenly the emergency that guaranteed Brooks could fly in for the birth had – unfortunately – presented itself. 

Mission impossible?

Expectant dad Brooks was still many hours away, but was given four days leave and put on the first of a series of flights. It was a sort of pregnant version of Mission Impossible, if you will.

“Friday morning my water was broken at 7 am and Pitocin began,” Haley told the Love What Matters site. “Brooks got to the airport in El Paso and boarded his plane at 11am. He called me as soon as that flight landed in Dallas at 2:38pm and I was 5 centimeters dilated.”

“He was scheduled to take off at 3:55pm but LUCKILY his flight was delayed to 5:45pm. Without that delay Brooks would have been in the air and unable to FaceTime!”

Who even knew that a flight delay could be a blessing in disguise?!

Remote support

In the delivery room, Brooks’ mother was FaceTiming the proceedings via Haley’s phone, and Brooks was supporting his wife from afar as best he could.

“Brooks was telling me it was okay, and I was doing so good and I heard him wincing and saying ‘wow!’ through my pushes. I could hear people in the airport talking and cheering!” Haley writes.

“Brooks then went on to say that they were making him board and needed to get off as soon as she finally started to crown and all I remember was my Doctor screaming ‘Don’t let him board the flight! She’s here! She’s here!’ So, the airport personnel let him sit there and watch till it was over!”

At 5.23pm, as her dad watched on, Millie Fritz Anne Lindsey was born safe and sound. Her daddy arrived in town at 7.00pm, ready to meet the little girl he’d seen delivered, an hour and a half earlier. Amazing!!