Storm Did Not Stop The Stork

In the middle of a hurricane, it can feel like everything has come to a stop. Well, the fact is, life goes on. And if you're nine months pregnant, the weather outside makes no difference when it's time to deliver.

At one section of St. Mary's hospital in West Palm Beach Saturday afternoon, there were expectant couples everywhere you looked.

"They've made us so comfortable here and calm that I'm not nervous at all," said one mother lying on the floor and pointing at the baby inside her. She adds, "She feels what I feel."

They came early, and camped in every nook and cranny. No one wanted to be stranded in the storm unable to make it to the delivery room.

In a hallway, another expectant mother tells The Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith. "I had contractions and I was dilated earlier in the week. I got a little nervous thinking I better get here before I have to do this at home."

Outside, Frances was the name on everyone's lips, but not inside. Asked another mother if in her wildest dreams, did she ever think this was the way she might go through delivery, she says, "No! No! No, not at all, not at all, but, you know, just one of those things."

Any chance whatsoever her baby could be named Frances? "Not at all," she exclaims. "We've already talked about that."

Friday, the weather got bad, Saturday, much worse, and in the midst of the storm, the babies came. And with every baby, a story, including little Dylan.

His father says, "The weather is nasty." His mother continues, "Very nasty. We were scared. We drove real slow, timing contractions on the way here, and just tried to be calm and we made it."

How did the father-to-be manage to stay calm, with debris on the road and darkness all around?

"I had a lot on my mind, so I wasn't too worried about that at the time," he says. "Drive straight and get us here on time."

Another couple had a different challenge; a proud mother says her delivery was a lot faster. "But since the epidural box wasn't working, it was a little shock. A lot of screaming was going on," she says.

The timing of things, as natural as the birth of a baby or the arrival of a terrible storm, really can't be predicted. We learned that again this weekend. Frances was late. Baby Mondale came a little early.

His worried parents came to the hospital early but were told to come back later. "I went back home. It was early labor. So I came back this morning," Mondale's mother says. "It was raining real bad. And the wind blowing me down, but it's all over now."

The wonder in Mondale's eyes almost makes you believe he knows. Knows that on this day, nature's fury and the calming presence of a baby aren't opposites at all, but part of the same thing.

"I think he is just a miracle," Mondale's grandmother says. "We weathered the storm and just so thankful to God that we were able to make it here to the hospital and that he's healthy and she had a great delivery, a blessing."

A special acknowledgment goes out to the staff at St. Mary's hospital, who were filled not with anxiety, but with love.