ORANGE — Carolyn Gilmore was informed by her midwives that the labor process for a second child typically goes faster than the first. However, Gilmore wasn’t expecting to deliver her second child within a half hour of her water breaking, nor in the passenger seat of her car less than a mile from the French King Bridge.

“After my water broke, the contractions got really intense. We left here around 11:30 a.m., and then we tried to get to Greenfield,” said Gilmore, 22, about getting to the hospital with her mother driving. “Then at 12 o’clock on the dot, she came out.”

At noon on Wednesday, Aug. 21, Gilmore gave birth to Lucia Adams in the front seat of her Nissan Rogue after her mother pulled over the vehicle heading westbound, a mile away from the French King Bridge.

Gilmore recalls the early morning leading up to that car ride to the hospital. She wanted to stay at home and in labor for as long as possible before going to the hospital for delivery. Her labor was gradual, and her water broke while at her home in Orange. That was when her mother got Gilmore into the car and sped to the hospital as she tried to cope with the contractions.

Although Gilmore was thinking she had more time before delivering, her mother Sharon Gilmore knew how close a call this would be.

“My mom had called the police just to let them know that we were coming to the hospital really quickly. I think that she was more aware of how imminent birth was,” Gilmore said. “I was still thinking we’re gonna get to hospital, they’re gonna check me and they’re gonna be like, ‘Oh, you’re six centimeters, good job.’”

In an intial story about her daughter’s birth on Aug. 23, Gill Police Chief Christopher Redmond recalled getting the call to escort Gilmore and her mother to Baystate Franklin Medical Center while on highway patrol duty. He was joined by State Trooper Scott Boutell, the first to arrive on scene after catching up to Gilmore and her mother just after the bridge.

“The state police officer that was following us was the very first one to come to the door,” Gilmore said, noting that the trooper seemed shocked. Prior to his arrival, Gilmore said  she was worried about getting her newborn breathing and in a secure position.

Gilmore doesn’t fully remember what was running through her mind in the five minutes between delivering Lucia and the arrival of Boutell. She felt that time was passing quickly as she made sure the baby was safe, before tending to how she was feeling.

“It took her a minute to really start crying, and then I was wrapping her in the blanket and taking an inventory of how I’m feeling, and what’s going on,” Gilmore said. “I had to try to get my pants off since she was literally born into my sweatpants … while just making sure that she was good. So that five minutes was spent just putting myself back together a little bit.”

Coincidentally, an EMS crew from Orange was coming back from Baystate Franklin when they stopped to assist Gilmore. The two-person crew of Joey Larson and Meaghan Ahearn transported Gilmore to the hospital where nurses waited to take care of her and Lucia.

Gilmore’s boyfriend and father to Lucia, Malik Adams, was not present for the roadside birth. Instead, he was at the barber’s when he received the call from Gilmore’s mother that they were headed to the hospital just after her water broke.

“I put the pedal to the floor,” Adams said about getting to the hospital after receiving the call. He recalls shaking the entire drive to Greenfield, but was put at ease when Gilmore’s mother called and he heard Lucia crying in the background.

“I heard a cry in the back, and that gave me a little bit more peace of mind,” Adams said. He arrived at the hospital 10 minutes after Gilmore and his new daughter with just enough time to cut the umbilical chord.

As this situation was unfolding, the Franklin County MA Scanner Facebook page posted a notification for a birth on French King Highway that Gilmore was shown while in hospital. She explains people began reaching out to her from the post, and she felt inclined to respond to comments asking if everyone was OK.

“An hour after I gave birth, somebody sent me the post,” Gilmore said.

She saw the comments offering congratulations and asking if she and her baby were OK. Although she didn’t reply to those, she replied publicly for the first time on an Orange EMS post about the department’s response. “I wanted to thank them,” she said.

In the week since Lucia was born, Gilmore and Adams have spent time together and with family. Gilmore named her daughter after her great-grandmother, and told the family the name only after Lucia was born to keep it a surprise.

When asked how she feels about motherhood with two children at 22, Gilmore said its been the most profound experience of her life.

“Your perspective just changes kind of immediately. They talk a lot about how when you’re giving birth to a child, there’s also the birth of the mother. I think that’s held true,” Gilmore said. “The word sacrifice takes on new meaning — just suddenly it becomes living not only for you, but living for your children.”

Malik feels similarly about fatherhood at 26 with his 4-year-old daughter and now Lucia.

“I would say [it’s] caring for somebody more than yourself, and being able to shape them and guide them in the right way,” Adams said. “I think it has been very rewarding.”

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.