New Mom Recalls Going into Labor and Giving Birth to ‘Miracle’ Baby During Hurricane Milton: ‘I Was Very Scared’

Kenzie Lewellen went into labor around 4 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 9, the day Hurricane Milton was projected to make landfall, and gave birth about 8 hours later

A Fla. couple who welcomed their newborn child during Hurricane Milton are calling their child a “miracle baby,” after overcoming numerous challenges to bring him into the world.

Kenzie Lewellen, 22, and her boyfriend, Dewey Bennett, 24, told NBC News that they were “nervous” and “stressed” after she went into labor at around 4 a.m. local time on Wednesday, Oct. 9 — the day Hurricane Milton was projected to make landfall.

There was also an additional concern for Bennett, who had previously lost a loved one experiencing a medical emergency during a similar storm. He told NBC News that his father had died during Hurricane Irma after he “had a massive heart attack” and an ambulance was not able to respond due to the storm.

Timing being the biggest concern, the couple knew the needed to check into the hospital before the storm made landfall at around 8:30 p.m. that evening. However, things were quickly worsening as their house in Port Charlotte, Fla. began flooding before her contractions began.

Related: Hurricane Milton Makes Landfall as Category 3 Storm as Florida Braces for More 'Catastrophic' Weather After Helene

“The day before, we were both calling the hospital and seeing if there was any way we can just check in,” she said. “But obviously during a storm, they don’t just let people come stay here, because they’re not a shelter.”

After about 4 ½ hours of labor, the couple were finally able to make their way to Sarasota Memorial hospital with Lewellen’s mother driving through “extremely windy” and rainy conditions. Once there, Lewellen said goodbye to her mother, as only one other person was allowed to go inside with Lewellen (in this case, Bennett).

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Lewellen was given a hospital room that provided a view of the storm, according to NBC News. She breathed through contractions as she and Bennett watched a nearby tree being uprooted amid the heavy storms.

While things were “intense” outside the hospital, the same could be said for the first-time mother in the hospital. Doctors soon told her that a cesarean section would be needed as the baby was in the wrong position.

“I had so much going through my head at that point, a storm and my family,” Lewellen recalled to the outlet.

“I was just on my own, by myself, and I was very scared," she continued. "If I didn’t have the doctors and the nurses that I had, it would have been a whole lot worse.”

Related: Anderson Cooper Struck by Flying Debris from Hurricane Milton During Live News Report: 'That Wasn't Good'

At 11:45 p.m. — three hours after Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida— the couple welcomed their son Dewey Lester Bennett, IV, named in honor of his grandfather. The baby was one of six others born at Sarasota Memorial hospitals during Hurricane Milton, a representative for the Sarasota Memorial Health Care System told NBC News.

The Sarasota Memorial Health Care System did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

After the couple's son was delivered safely, the couple was able to breathe a sigh of relief, though Lewellen joked to NBC News that she is “probably going to give him a hard time for being so stubborn” during his birth.

“He is a miracle baby,” she added.

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