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BRONXVILLE, N.Y. -- The heavy rain trumpeting Tropical Storm Irene's arrival was lashing down early Sunday morning as Elizabeth Chaiko and her husband Renny Alex left their home and headed to Bronxville.
Chaiko was not supposed to have her second child until Sept. 8, but had been experiencing contractions since 11 p.m. that night.
"Right away the contractions were coming 20 minutes apart," Chaiko said. "I was praying it was a false alarm, and they would stop. But by midnight, the contractions were getting stronger and closer, only five minutes apart. "My husband said, let's go," she said.
The couple left for Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville with Alex driving very slowly. They traveled slowly and carefully from their Yonkers home, located just off Central Avenue near Nathans, making sure no fallen trees were in their path.
"We got to the hospital and I was well into labor," Chaiko said. "After that, I didn't care what was going on outside of the hospital, I was having my baby."
Joseph Renny Alex was born just after 6:30 a.m. weighing in at six pounds, three ounces.
This is not the first time Chaiko had a storm baby. Her son Daniel, 6, was born during the blizzard of 2005.
"I went to the doctor and he felt I would deliver before the storm was over so he admitted me to the hospital," Chaiko said. "Daniel was born the next day, on Jan. 22 and there was two feet of snow on the ground."
Chaiko said both she and Joseph are doing fine.
"I tell Daniel he was born during a blizzard, and now I will tell Joseph he was born during a hurricane," Chaiko said. "Now they both have great stories to tell for the rest of their lives."
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