NEW ORLEANS – When his wife woke with labor pains early Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal, R-La., barely had time to call 911 before the couple's third child, a son, was born at home in their bedroom.
Slade Ryan Jindal arrived before the ambulance did at approximately 3:25 a.m., Jindal spokesman Trey Williams said Tuesday.
Jindal, per instruction by phone from a nurse at the doctor's office, put the baby in the arms of his wife, Supriya, and tied off the umbilical cord with a shoe string, Williams said.
"His dream in life was to be a doctor. He kind of got to play that role today," Williams said.
Slade, who was due this coming Thursday, weighed in at a healthy 8 pounds, 2 ounces, and measured 21 inches long, Williams said.
Supriya Jindal had been to the hospital twice in the last week with pains thought to be contractions, Williams said. She was at the doctor's office as recently as Monday and was told there were no signs the baby would be coming as soon as it did, he said.
The ambulance arrived about 20 minutes after Bobby Jindal called 911, and the family was transported to a nearby hospital where mother and baby were resting comfortably Tuesday, Williams said.
Because the couple's second child, 2-year-old Shaan Robert, had a heart condition that required open heart surgery just after his birth, this pregnancy was monitored very closely, Williams said.
"He was perfectly healthy," he said.
The couple's first child, Selia Elizabeth, is now 4.
Both Selia and Shaan were at the house and slept through the ordeal, Williams said.
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