Life begins in fast lane for baby Harlan

They were the last words expectant father Marc Joshua wanted to hear as he drove wife Casey to Wollongong Hospital on Friday night  but, like any smart man in his situation, he did not argue.

The Balgownie builder promptly pulled over into the commuter car park at the base of Mount Ousley Road around 8.45pm and, only minutes later, delivered a bouncing, baby boy.

The 3.55kg bundle, who arrived with a fluffy layer of dark hair and a healthy set of lungs, caught his parents off guard by making an entrance after a brief 90-minute labour.

Mum Casey said she was glad she and husband Marc had already had some experience before little Harlan barged into the world.

‘‘We’ve had two relatively easy, natural labours in the past so I kind of knew what was happening, though I think it would’ve been a completely different story, had it been our first,’’ she said.

‘‘Third time round I was really comfortable with what was going on and my husband was keeping me calm. It all happened so quickly I don’t think either of us had time to freak out.

‘‘He was very cool, calm and collected...he was on the phone to the ambulance as he pulled into the car park, trying to keep me calm all at the same time  so he was multi-tasking very well.’’

Minutes later the proud dad welcomed his son into the world and spent a few precious minutes with mum and bub in the front seat of the family car before ambulance officers arrived.

Harlan, who is named after Marc’s South African-born father, is little brother to Macy, 2, and Xanthe, 1. He became known in the hospital as the ‘little man who couldn’t wait’.

Casey advised expectant parents is to be prepared, just in case things don’t go to plan.

‘‘Make sure you’ve got plastic and towels in your car because we had neither and our car was a little bit worse for wear."