Fort McMurray mother's cheeky 'fire baby' onesie in hot demand
Someday, when he blows out the candles on his birthday cake, little Michael Spurrell will have a great story to tell.
But until he can walk and talk, the newborn has a black-and-white onesie that hints at his "fire baby" beginnings.
LeeAnne Leonard created the "Made in Fort Mac and proud to be back" outfit just for her son, before she decided to produce more of them to raise money for a friend who lost her home in the wildfire just days after moving in.
Now, Leonard can't keep up with the demand from other mothers of babies born during and after the evacuation.
"He's what people are calling a fire baby," she said. "There's been quite a few babies born after the evacuation. It's just a reminder, for him when he gets older, to look at and say, 'Hey, this happened to me.' "
'I'm going to deliver a baby on the side of the road'
Leonard went into labour on May 3, the day more than 90,000 people were evacuated from the city. As the wildfire swept into the city, she rushed to pick up her seven-year-old daughter from school.
That's when she realized the road towards the school was already closed.
"Instantly, contractions started. I was just so stressed out and didn't know what was happening. So, here I am in my vehicle with my two year old wondering, 'When am I going to get my seven year old?' And I'm just like, 'I'm going to deliver a baby on the side of the road.' "
She eventually found her daughter had been evacuated to another school.
After Leonard picked up her fiance, the family got stuck on the highway for four hours, her contractions coming and going the whole time.
The contractions only stopped once they arrived at their camper in Athabasca.
Leonard gave birth in St. Albert on May 14. The family — including three children, two huskies and a cat — lived in the camper for six weeks.
"It was cramped, but we were all together, so that's all that mattered," she said.
Outfit popular with other Fort McMurray mothers
The family returned to Fort McMurray on June 17. Leonard's home in Gregoire is still standing, but her friend, also a mother of three, lost everything.
Selling the onesies to raise money to help her friend get back on her feet was, Leonard said, the least she could do.
It has also brought other "fire baby" mothers together. Leonard said she's had more than 100 mothers request onesies for their own babies.
"I know one lady, she was in labour during the evacuation and she had her baby the next day," Leonard said.
"She said it's something she'll keep forever because her baby was born right on that day."
