In the early morning hours of January 28th, lifestyle blogger Shannon Bird discovered that she had no way to feed her newborn infant.
So, the desperate mom did the only thing she could think of…and called the cops on herself!
When emergency dispatchers answered a call in the middle of the night from a very distressed mom, they heard a crazy story unlike any they’d ever heard before.
The Alpine, Utah mother tearfully explained how her breast milk had dried up and she had no formula in the house to feed her six-week-old daughter!
In an audio recording of the 911 call obtained by KSL TV, Shannon can be heard pleading:
“I have no idea how I can get formula to her and I’ve been calling neighbors and no one will answer. I’ve never been in this predicament ever. My milk just literally dried out. This is my fifth kid and this has never happened.”
What’s a panicked, tuckered out mom supposed to do?
Here’s the some background info that might help shed some light on what was going through Shannon’s head at 2:12 AM that morning:
Her husband was away on business, so he obviously couldn’t help.
None of her friends or neighbors were picking up their phones. Totally understandable since people tend to get really cranky if they don’t get their beauty sleep.
Her four other children were peacefully snoozing in bed, including a son who had broken a leg and was wearing a cast.
She couldn’t just abandon them to wily kiddie predators!
After some careful thought, Shannon dialed 911 and hoped for the best. And that’s exactly what she got!
A couple of Lone Peak Police Department officers, Brett Wagstaff and Konner Gabbitas, immediately responded to the mommy emergency by hand-delivering a gallon of milk from the convenience store.
Footage from their bodycams showed the exhausted mom cradling her little boo bear in a pink blanket as she opened the front door.
Unfortunately, there was one big problem with this emergency food drop.
When Wagstaff saw the newborn, the experienced father knew right away that she was way too young for regular milk!
“We’ll leave this with you. We’ll be right back with some formula for your baby – she’s adorable.”
The two heroes in blue dashed off to Walmart and returned as quickly as they could with some proper nom nom for baby London.
“That’s the same stuff we gave my daughter when she was first born, so hopefully it doesn’t upset her stomach.”
Even though they paid for it out of pocket, the officers refused to accept any money for their good deed. But, they were more than willing to accept lots of heartfelt gratitude and thanks!
Sadly, the story doesn’t quite end on that happy note.
Some folks are angry about the seemingly non-emergency nature of Shannon’s call to 911. But, it’s not like the stressed out mom didn’t try some other other options first! As told to KSL TV, Shannon said of her baby girl:
“She was screaming. I called my husband and we were brainstorming. I started calling neighbors and teenagers in the area and my little brother and no one was awake.”
Shannon also mentioned that she wasn’t actually expecting the officers to go fetch the baby food for her.
She initially thought the cops would just patrol her house while her 8-year-old son watched over his siblings. That would give her the time and peace of mind to go grab the formula herself.
The Lone Peak Police Department’s public information officer, Dave Ventrano, applauded the actions of his brothers in blue:
“Most of us, we got on this job to help people, and this was an example of helping out a mother that was in need.”
Although it was the first time he encountered a situation like this in his 15 years of service, he didn’t admonish or shame Shannon for making that 911 call.
“To this mom, this is a priority for her. It’s been about protect and serve. This is part of the serve. We are here to serve the public.”
The fashion, lifestyle, and travel blogger certainly learned a very embarrassing – and very public – lesson about mommy preparedness that day.
But, she was also grateful to know that she had some midnight helpers out there who were also parents and understood her plight.
“Thank you for helping people in situations where they can’t help themselves in emergencies.”
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