When a coworker drove Courtney Smith home at 2:24 p.m. on March 19, the mom-to-be was still planning to wait for her scheduled induction the following morning.

Courtney and husband Hunter Smith, a Gibson Electric substation technician, were preparing for an early start the next day. Though she was having contractions at lunch, they weren’t consistent enough to worry her.

But when Hunter met Courtney at their home in Trenton shortly after she arrived, the pain told her a different story.

“I think we’ve waited too late,” she said.

Hunter shook off her concerns and packed the car until he heard Courtney say, “This baby’s coming now.”

With one push, Porter Smith arrived at 2:45 p.m., delivered in the bathroom by loving parents whose instincts and faith carried them through the moment.

Faith Walk

In September 2025, Courtney attended a Christian retreat called Faith Walk. She was full of fear just as she had been during her first pregnancy. As other women shared their stories, Courtney wondered if she had a testimony.

Though prayer gave Courtney the strength she needed on Thursday, March 19, the Faith Walk wasn’t on her mind at the time.

She noticed Porter wasn’t crying, so she placed her mouth over his nose and sucked out the fluid. Hunter rushed to remove the umbilical cord from around Porter’s neck.

The 6-lb. crappie line wasn’t stout enough to tie off the cord, so Hunter grabbed the poly string electricians use in conduit. An off-duty paramedic arrived in time to help Hunter. As they scrambled for kitchen scissors, another paramedic entered the house and handed over his medical shears.

Through it all, the couple remained calm.

“She’ll cry at a wasp sting,” Hunter joked. “But she was a super mom, just an amazing woman.”

At the hospital

With all county ambulances responding to other emergencies, the couple was told the nearest volunteer was 28 minutes away. Hunter knew he could drive them to the hospital much quicker, so Courtney cleaned and dressed Porter in a onesie. Then she loaded him into the car seat.

On the way to the hospital, Courtney used FaceTime to connect with family, panning over to their newborn.

“Everybody was shocked,” she said. “When I called my sister, who’s a nurse, she thought it was a joke.”

When they pulled up to hospital admissions, Hunter passed a line of people at check-in and said, “I need help. My wife had our baby at home, and we didn’t mean for that to happen.”

A surprised but jubilant staff quickly surrounded the couple’s car, helping Courtney and Porter into a room. Porter weighed 8 lbs. and measured 21 in. He was healthy overall, visiting a warmer twice during their 24-hour stay.

Faith over fear

As their adrenaline wore off in the hospital, Courtney began replaying the delivery in her head, thinking about all the things that could have gone wrong.

“I got emotional just talking about it,” she said. “We had no idea what we were doing. We’re so grateful. We could have had a totally different outcome.”

Courtney only recently connected her Faith Walk to her special delivery.

“Fear is not something that God gives us,” she said. “He has the perfect plan for us. We really leaned on our faith and trusted that everything would be okay.”

She’s no longer wondering about her testimony. Sharing Porter’s remarkable birth is the couple’s witness to God’s faithfulness.

“God was there every single moment of the way,” Hunter said.

Back home, the Smiths are settling in as a family of four, with big brother Crew proudly telling friends about Porter’s special delivery.