Parenting

Instead of Taking Off, Flight Waited to Let a Soldier Dad Watch the Birth of His Baby Girl

ParentingPublished Jun 10, 2022
By Lauren Levy
Military familyHaley Lindsey

It's easy to say that military families make great sacrifices but it's an entirely different thing to see it as it's happening. That's why the story behind a soldier cheering on his laboring wife over FaceTime – as he sits on an airport floor while witnessing the birth of his daughter – is going viral.

Haley Lindsey found out that she had to be induced two weeks early -- with little chance of her husband being there.-placeholder
Haley Lindsey found out that she had to be induced two weeks early -- with little chance of her husband being there.
Haley Lindsey

Haley Lindsey found out that she had to be induced two weeks early - with little chance of her husband being there.

The military wife from Mississippi hadn't seen her solider husband, Brooks Lindsey, since she was five months pregnant back in 2018. He had been stationed in Texas as he prepared for a nine-month deployment in Kuwait and there was little hope of his being able to come home for the birth of his first child. However when Haley found out that she had to be induced early due to high blood pressure and her baby girl being in distress, she called the Red Cross seeking permission for Brooks to be allowed to leave his base in Texas to fly back for the emergency birth.

Brooks was granted leave but not until the next morning. As Haley labored, her husband boarded a flight at 10:00 a.m. and checked in on her progress during a layover in Dallas.

His mom started secretly FaceTiming from the delivery room so Brooks could be part of it from his layover.

Without Brooks physically there for support, Haley had her mother-in-law and stepmom in the delivery room with her. Although the doctor said no filming, Brooks's mom secretly FaceTimed her son – with most of the phone except for the camera hidden in her shirt – so that Brooks could see what was going on. "When I began to push, the doctor asked what she was doing, and she showed my doctor Brooks's face on the screen and she realized what was going on," Haley told Love What Matters. "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!"

But right as Millie was about to be born, it was time to board his second flight.-placeholder
But right as Millie was about to be born, it was time to board his second flight.
Haley Lindsey

But right as Millie was about to be born, it was time to board his second flight.

Just as baby Millie officially started crowning, Brooks said that he had to go because they were making him board his connecting flight. "All I remember was my doctor screaming 'Don't let him board the flight! She's here! She's here!'" she said. "So, the airport personnel let him sit there and watch till it was over!"

Originally, there had still been hope for him to make it in time, but that delay turned out to be a blessing.-placeholder
Originally, there had still been hope for him to make it in time, but that delay turned out to be a blessing.
Haley Lindsey

Originally, there had still been hope for him to make it in time, but that delay turned out to be a blessing.

Haley didn't know that Brooks's layover had been extended because nobody wanted to stress her while she was in labor. But it's exactly that change of plans that allowed him to witness the birth of baby Millie.

"I was excited, nervous, just every emotion was running through me," Brooks tells CafeMom. "I was so mad about the flight being delayed until I saw my baby be born because the fact is if I was on the flight I would have missed it all together. When I saw my baby it was emotional, she's my firstborn and she just made my heart sink, she was perfect in every single way."

The emotional scene touched strangers at the airport who celebrated this new dad's joy with him.-placeholder
The emotional scene touched strangers at the airport who celebrated this new dad's joy with him.

The emotional scene touched strangers at the airport who celebrated this new dad's joy with him.

Tracy Dover was waiting for her flight at the airport when she saw Brooks witnessing the birth of his baby girl from the floor and was moved by the bittersweet moment. She took a snapshot of the moment and shared it on social media as a reminder of what military families go through. "He was crying and our hearts were breaking. We all gave him space. When we heard the baby cry, we all rejoiced for him," she wrote on Facebook. "I wanted to share this because I never want us to forget about our soldiers who serve us every day and the sacrifices they make."

Brooks made it to the hospital just a few hours after Millie's birth, and the moment was worth the wait.-placeholder
Brooks made it to the hospital just a few hours after Millie's birth, and the moment was worth the wait.
2d Battalion, 114th Field Artillery Regiment/Facebook

Brooks made it to the hospital just a few hours after Millie's birth, and the moment was worth the wait.

When Brooks arrived, Haley asked everyone to clear the room so they could privately cherish their first moments as a family of three. "The feeling of seeing Brooks for the first time in three months was almost as good as seeing Millie for the first time," she says. "Just like I finally felt relief and could be one!"

The new family only had four days together before Brooks had to leave again.-placeholder
The new family only had four days together before Brooks had to leave again.
Haley Lindsey

The new family only had four days together before Brooks had to leave again.

"The emotions of having a newborn, and my husband and I not seeing each other since I was five months pregnant was so hard but Millie took to him so well," she says. "It's been hard trying to juggle the social media interest and have him have his time with his baby ... but we are so thankful he got to experience it either way!"

Brooks couldn't agree more and hopes his family's story reminds others of what military parents give up. "I just want other families to know that there are many soldiers out there who don’t even get to see a FaceTime video of their kids being born. There's a lot of sacrifices we make and our families make for us to serve this great country of ours," he adds. "But all of it is worth it when you get to hold your loved ones at the end of it all."

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