‘Mom, she’s on the floor!’ Lake L.A. mother recounts chaotic roadside birth

What began as a determined plan for a natural birth turned into an unforgettable delivery in grandma’s truck for Lake L.A. mom Sandi Mendoza, whose daughter was born on the floor of the pickup Saturday morning.

Mendoza, 27, now a mother of three, told KTLA she had been laboring at her parents’ Palmdale home for hours, waiting as long as she could before heading to the hospital. She wanted to avoid induction and experience a natural delivery after having epidurals with her first two children.

She credits her smooth, if chaotic, experience to one surprising factor: the red raspberry leaf tea she drank daily throughout her pregnancy.

“I had a coworker tell me she did the same thing, and her baby popped right out,” Mendoza laughed from her hospital bed, where she breastfed her newborn daughter during the interview. “I didn’t believe it — but I kept drinking it, and I think that helped a lot.”

By Saturday morning, her contractions were coming fast, and her husband had stepped out to pick up a yoga ball and heating pad — per her request, she noted. So Mendoza’s mom drove her toward the hospital — though not fast enough for the baby’s arrival.

“I had one foot up on the back of her seat, I was crying and telling my mom, ‘She’s coming!’” Mendoza recalled, laughing. “But my mom, she drives so slow — I knew I made a mistake.” 

The young mother said that her daughter couldn’t wait any longer — she couldn’t even wait for Mendoza to take her shorts off. “She popped out through the side of my underwear and my shorts and landed on the floor of the truck. I yelled, ‘Mom, she’s on the floor!’”

Giggling through the story, Mendoza said her mom replied, “What? What do you mean [she’s on the floor]?” To which Mendoza yelled, “Park!”

Her mother quickly pulled over and called 911. Paramedics arrived within minutes, helping both mom and baby into an ambulance. They were taken to a nearby hospital, where both are now healthy and safe.

Even though the delivery was unplanned, Mendoza says it turned out exactly the way she’d hoped.

“I’ve always wanted to do it naturally — I wanted to prove to myself that my body could do it,” she said. “It didn’t happen the way I imagined, but I loved every minute of it. We had a natural birth … in a truck.”

The baby’s name is Soleil, and Mendoza says her four-year-old daughter is already telling everyone the story.

“She told her grandpa, ‘My baby sister was born in grandma’s truck,’” Mendoza laughed.

Looking back, Mendoza says her daughter’s bold entrance suits her already.

“You can tell she was meant to be born in the truck. She already has an attitude when I put her down,” Mendoza joked. “The nurse told me, ‘You’ll know which one was born in the truck.’”

As for advice to other moms, Mendoza swears by her tea, her breathing tricks, and trusting her body.

“Every birth is different, but this one showed me how strong I am. It’s a crazy story to tell, but I wouldn’t change a thing.”