HOLDEN — Benjamin Baldridge was in a hurry to join his family May 16, arriving a week earlier than expected.

Benjamin arrived with his mother, Meghan Baldridge, lying on the bathroom floor waiting for help. His birth was just an hour after what Meghan felt as a “first minor twinge” of a contraction.

Thanks to Hancock County RCC dispatcher Jessica Silvestrone and Meghan’s middle son, Brady, 3, she was not alone.

The day started uneventfully.

“I was working on his scrapbook,” said Meghan Baldridge, pointing to Brady. “I had cleaned the bathroom. Done some laundry. I felt fine. It was like any other day.”

Husband Dan Baldridge was working in Bar Harbor, where he’s chef/kitchen manager at Kebo Valley Golf Club. Their oldest son, Bayley, was in kindergarten class at Holden Elementary School.

Here’s a play by play:

• 11:15-11:30: Meghan felt her first minor contraction.

• 11:45: Meghan called her mother in law, Judy Gray, who is in Orland, to give her a heads up that she was having minor contractions.

• Noon: Meghan called Daniel to let him know she was having minor contractions but that nothing was going to happen and he should stay at work.

• 12:03: Meghan calls the doctor to check if she should come by the office. The doctor’s office is at lunch.

Meghan is on the phone with the doctor’s answering service for five minutes during which time the contractions went from mild to “super strong,” she said. “The pain went from zero to 60.”

• 12:09: Meghan calls her mother-in-law back and says, “You need to come now. This is for real.”

“A couple minutes later I felt a really strong urge to push,” Megan said. “I reached down and felt the head.”

• 12:10: Meghan calls 911.

RCC dispatcher Jessica Silvestrone answers the call.

“It was exciting,” Silvestrone said. “Normally you don’t get those calls.

“There was nobody there to assist so we were limited in what we could do,” Silvestrone said. “I told her she was doing a good job.”

• 12:19: Baby Benjamin is born.

“He came out screaming and I just felt pure relief,” Meghan said.

• 12:24: Holden first responders arrive.

While, the Baldridges live in the Penobscot County town of Holden, they are a half-mile from the Dedham town line, so the call ended up getting routed to the Hancock County RCC.

Meanwhile, Dan had tried calling the house back and wasn’t getting an answer. He called 911 and decided to start home.

“I was terrified,” Dan said. “All these things just start going through your mind.”

The worries included the umbilical cord getting wrapped around the baby’s neck or his wife possibly bleeding to death before help arrived, he said.

Meghan had lots of praise for the Holden EMTs, including Jim Ellis.

“He was awesome,” she said. “Jim came in, they cut the cord and wrapped him up and started getting him warmer.

Meanwhile, Dan was driving down the Bayside Road to get home when his cell phone rang.

The caller was another dispatcher on duty, Rolly Means, letting him know Meghan was OK and that they had a new son.

The Baldridges didn’t know what sex they were expecting. They had found out with the first two children but decided to keep the last baby a surprise.

“To find out on the Bayside Road from a county dispatcher was pretty weird,” Dan said. “We sure lucked out. Everybody’s fine.”

Dispatcher Jessica and Meghan got a chance to chat on Monday.

Jessica told Meghan she hoped she was helpful during the call.

“Knowing that you were there and you were bringing the people to me was what I needed,” Meghan said.

“Was I freaking out?” she asked.

“No,” Jessica said. “You did good.”

Hancock County RCC dispatcher Jessica Silvestrone knew just what do to May 16 when she picked up a 911 call and a woman was yelling that she was having a baby.

RCC Director Renee Wellman explained that the Maine Legislature mandated Emergency Medical Dispatching in 2007. All the dispatchers have been trained in emergency medical dispatching. They also use a computer system that provides them questions to ask callers based on certain medical scenarios.

Wellman said that some 911 callers get “really irritated when we start asking questions. It’s not that we’re being nosy by any means. There’s a series of questions we have to ask to ascertain what type of help to send.”

For more of the latest news, pick up a copy of The Ellsworth American.