Whitney McElravy almost made it to Butler Memorial Hospital to have her second child.

She got close, pretty close, like in the parking lot of the emergency room.

It was there that her son, Liam, was born in the front seat of her car that had just pulled up to the emergency room entrance.

Liam was born at 9 p.m., Wednesday at 7 pounds, 8 ounces and 20.5 inches, and although he was blue and cold at the time of his birth, Liam is doing well.

Both baby and his mother are back at their home in Chicora after being discharged from Butler Memorial.

Whitney and her husband Ben McElravy were on their way to the hospital when her water broke. Whitney’s contractions had just began getting stronger when they left for the hospital.

“They say your second (child) comes quicker, but I didn’t know it would be that quick,” said Whitney, who has a daughter, Kaylee, almost 2 years old.

On the way to the hospital, Ben and Whitney were dropping Kaylee off at her grandparents’ home in Brady Township, when Whitney’s mother decided to go to the hospital with them.

Heidi Nagel kept her daughter calm on the way, Whitney said.

Although her mother has no medical training or experience, her maternal instincts kicked in.

“She said I’m her baby, and she knew she had to save my baby,” Whitney said of her mother.

Ben said he has no idea how he would have driven and kept Whitney calm had his mother-in-law not been on the trip with them.

There was substantial snow on the road so he had to drive well below the speed limit.

“I had tunnel vision,” he said. “I caught myself holding my breath on the way there.” Ben called the drive “terrifying” and said his knuckles were white on the steering wheel.

Although Whitney was in labor for 19 hours when Kaylee was born, on Wednesday night she could feel Liam’s head when they were only a mile away from the hospital, she said.

While Ben ran inside the hospital, Whitney’s mother caught Liam.

“When I didn’t hear him cry, I was worried,” Whitney said.

However, her mother was able to work quickly to unwrap the umbilical cord that was around Liam’s neck twice.

Once Whitney heard Liam cry, she felt much better.

But Liam was blue and his feet were purple, according to Ben, who wrapped Liam in his coat to keep him warm while they waited for the hospital staff.

Despite being born in 15 degree weather and needing heating blankets in the hospital, Liam will be just fine, the parents said.

Ben wishes he had had the mental clarity to call 911 during the drive so the hospital staff would have been ready for Liam’s abrupt arrival.

But they aren’t going to let Liam forget the unusual way he was born.

In fact, Ben already jokingly plans to tell Liam, “You caused enough trouble the first day of your life, so you can behave for the rest of it.”