After four long labours and hospital births, Dubbo's Lyndal Sheil didn't expect her fifth child to be in a hurry to be born.
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But six weeks ago the frightened mother lay down on her bedroom floor knowing going to hospital was not an option.
Partner Simon Bowden took the couple's four children, Zahli, 9, Harper, 4, Bonnie, 2, and Harry, 1, "out the back" so they could not hear their mother in agony.
His mother, Alison Bowden, sank to her knees in the couple's bedroom and faced the challenge of delivering her ninth grandchild.
But the family was not alone in the about 18 minutes between the time Mrs Bowden rang NSW Ambulance and the arrival of Max weighing 4.25 kilograms and measuring 51 centimetres.
Emergency call-taker at the NSW Ambulance Sydney control centre, mother-of-two Ashlee Bull, kept the situation "under control", says the family.
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On Friday, the Sydneysider came to Dubbo to meet the people who say they are "very grateful" for her advice which included clearing Max's mouth and nose after he failed to cry when born.
They laughed together when recalling the eventful morning of September 27.
"I woke up at 4.30 and was having little pains," Miss Sheil said.
"Then I hopped up at about 5.30 and was walking around, popped into the shower and asked Simon to call his mum so she could watch the kids while we went to the hospital.
"Then I hopped out of the shower and my water broke and it was all on."
Miss Sheil said Mrs Bowden rang triple zero about 6.50am and put Ms Bull on speaker phone.
"I was trying not to push but they were saying 'you have to push'," Max's mother said.
"I was scared. There are so many complications that can happen at hospital let alone at home."
Ms Bull, who since becoming a call-taker in June 2018 has helped deliver five babies over the phone, went "straight into business mode" when the Dubbo call came through.
She alerted paramedics and gathered information to ensure continued contact with the caller who became her "eyes and ears".
"I gave instructions and kept checking in on where we were up to," she said. "This is what we are trained for."
Mrs Bowden said the then stranger on the end of the line took a "step-by-step" approach to the emergency birth.
"I just focused on what she was telling me to do," she said. "It was teamwork."
Miss Sheil said the call ended after her baby was born at 7.08am and paramedics arrived.
They "assessed" Max and supported Mr Bowden in cutting the cord and bringing the children into the bedroom to see the baby.
"They were brilliant," the mother of five said.
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Miss Sheil felt relief after the paramedics arrived while Mrs Bowden cried.
Their phone companion admits to letting out a "big sigh, bragging to some of my friends and texting my mum".
"You can go quite a long time without helping someone go through that experience, so it's very special," Ms Bull said.