Every birth is a unique and miraculous experience.
Whether you're welcoming your third or fourth little one into the world, or finally meeting your baby after endless complications, every birth is spectacular and beautiful.
But for one young mom, the birth of her tiny baby boy was truly one in a million. Or, more precisely, 1 in 80,000.
That's because her little boy was born fully wrapped inside his amniotic sac, which was still perfectly intact.
This kind of birth, called an en caul birth, accounts for just .001 percent (or roughly 1 in 80,000) of all deliveries, and is almost never caught on camera.
In this unusual case, mom Keely Kilmer and her partner, David Lewis, were stunned when Kilmer delivered their little love just after an hour of labor, and found him still in his "wrapping" upon arrival.
Scroll through below to learn more about the miraculous phenomenon of en caul births, and this particular sweet baby's singular birth story!
When Keely Kilmer gave birth to her first baby, she had no idea that she was about to experience something very few mothers see in their lifetimes.
Her little boy, David Toby Lewis, was born weighing in at 6 lbs. 8 oz after a speedy, straightforward delivery.
What was unusual, however, is that he entered the world already swaddled — in his amniotic sack!
When a woman gets pregnant, her body doesn't just start creating a baby, it also starts to create a life support system to help sustain the little one for nine long months.
The body makes a placenta, which is a whole extra organ full of nutrients for the baby.
Meanwhile, it grows an amniotic sac around the developing baby, which helps the baby absorb nutrients from mom.
For almost every delivery, that amniotic sac "breaks" during the early stages of labor — what we usually call the "water" breaking — and the membranes comes off the baby during the intense labor process.
But for little David Toby Lewis, that wasn't the case!
He came out completely wrapped in a nearly-intact amniotic sac during his mom's water birth.
It's hard to say exactly why David was born en caul when almost no babies are.
Kilmer's labor was an extremely speedy hour-long process, and was very easy as labors go.
She described it to PA Real Life, saying, "At around midday I went to a birthing center and around 1pm he arrived. It was painful, of course, but not unbearably painful."
She did experience her water breaking, but it's possible that because the delivery was so easy, the sac itself stayed in place.
Lots of friends and family were on hand to witness David Toby's remarkable arrival into the world, and his grandma even caught the whole process on tape.
Of the experience, his mom says, "It was amazing. I just couldn't believe it. It felt very special. Seeing his body surrounded by his amniotic sac – which had fed and nurtured him for nine months – was a once in a lifetime opportunity"
David Toby's father, also called David, was stunned as well to see his partner of three-and-a-half years deliver their baby boy under such unique circumstances.
His mom and grandmother were both present for the birth, and it was his mother, Jennifer Lewis, who caught the unusual sight on camera.
Of his son's rare and historic birth, Dad said, "I heard it meant he had special powers and lifelong good luck – well, he's proved lucky to us!"
Historically, en caul births have been associated with luck and good fortune, so we're guessing little David Toby (who goes by his middle name now that he's a bit bigger) will have a pretty incredible life!
The caul is sometimes also called a "veil" because it often covers the baby's face, and the word "caul" itself is from a Latin term for helmet.
The idea is that babies born "behind the veil" have a special perspective on the world, and will always be incredibly intuitive and sensitive to those around them.
Certainly, this is one little boy who had a pretty exceptional start in life, and looks like he plans to continue the pattern!
So far, he seems to be doing a good job of living up to his rare birthing circumstances.
At five months, he's chubby-cheeked and adorable, and already has three teeth!
Have you ever heard of a baby born en caul like this? Let us know in the comments and don't forget to SHARE with friends and family!
