Little Lola wouldn't wait

(Photo submitted) Ira Johnson -- a 1993 Spencer grad -- delivered his daughter Lola at the intersection of Highway 285 and Federal Boulevard near Denver, Colo. He, his wife Robyn, their daughter Finley and their dog Lillie (not pictured) welcomed Lola into the world in the back seat of their car. [Click to enlarge]

Most American babies have a hospital or clinic listed as their birthplace.

Not Lola Snow Johnson.

She was simply too impatient to wait for her dad Ira to navigate through rush-hour traffic and a construction zone from their home in Conifer, Colo., to a midwife clinic in Denver, where her mom, Robyn, was planning to have her delivered.

Instead, she was delivered by her dad at about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday morning -- just 90 minutes after Robyn's first contraction -- at the intersection of Highway 285 and Federal Boulevard.

"We were flying down the shoulder of the road and she told me twice she thought she needed to push," Ira Johnson -- a 1993 Spencer grad -- recalled. "The third time she said, 'I think we're going to have the baby in the car.'"

By that point the baby had crowned and her head was coming out.

"I checked to make sure the umbilical cord wasn't impeding it. I told her to push one more time and she did and the baby was out," Johnson said.

He knew the umbilical cord needed to be tied in two places and had heard a shoelace could be used. Robyn removed the shoelace from Ira's shoe so he could tie off the cord, using his hand to clamp it and his teeth to pull the knot tight, while she called 911.

As the family waited for the ambulance, Lola was welcomed into the world by her 3-year-old sister, Finley, and Lillie, the family's dog.

"Finley didn't say anything until I said it was a girl and she said she wanted to see her sister," Johnson said.

Because the family was between county and city lines, two ambulances arrived on the scene, which later incited a slight dispute concerning what town got credit for the birth, an honor that ultimately went to Sheridan.

"They were nice enough to list 285 and Federal as the birth place," Johnson said. "Little Lola will always have that going for her. "

Robyn and Lola arrived at a Denver Hospital at 8 a.m. There, Lola weighed in at 6 pounds, 15 ounces and measured 19 1/2 inches, before being checked out of the hospital at 3 p.m.

The overall quick process surprised the Johnsons, especially considering Finley was born during a 28-hour-long, medicine-free, natural birth.

"We were basing most of our timing off the first baby," Johnson said. "Everything came out so easily it didn't seem at the time like it was as much hoopla as it is... We knew the baby wanted to be in the world; there was no question about that."

Ira Johnson owns Happy Llama Printing and Robyn is a writer and stay-at-home mom. Johnson said he named his business after a llama farm his grandfather used to run near Spencer. His parents, Tom and Deb, now live in Ames. Tom was a longtime veterinarian at Homestead Small Animal Practice in Spencer.

Ira's sister Amanda Hoffman still lives in Spencer with her husband, Brett, and sons, Noah and Max.

Robyn's parents Pam and Peter Brose reside in La Crosse, Wis.