STRATHAM — Sara and Sam Tolliday's 3-day-old daughter has already been nicknamed Liv "Target" Tolliday because of her unusual birthplace during the early hours of Saturday morning.

The Tollidays were driving in a race to the hospital when Sara's water broke on Route 33, forcing the husband and wife to turn into the parking lot of the Target store in Greenland. The car was still moving when Liv was born in the front seat of the car just before 1:15 a.m.

Sara said she'd been experiencing discomfort during her workday on Friday at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover. That night, she went to bed, trying to get some rest with her due date approaching.

"Right after, things really started to progress," Sara said. "All of a sudden they were two minutes apart, cluster contractions and I was like, 'We got to go.'"

Sara wasted no time and went barefoot to the car from their Stratham home.

"As soon as I got in the car, I knew that things were really moving and I probably wasn’t going to make it (to the hospital)," she said.

Sam said his wife was in too much pain to talk, and her only response to him was "no" when he asked her to put her seat belt on.

"The whole time I was freaking out inside naturally," Sam said. "But I remember I said, 'If I freak out in front of her ...' All of my focus was just staying as cool as I possibly could. I was just like, 'I need to stay cool for her or it's going to go completely wrong.'"

As the Tollidays turned into the Target parking lot, Liv's entire body entered the world.

"I was wearing yoga pants," Sara said. "She was literally trying to come through my pants. And there she was. That was it, she was out and we hadn't even stopped the car yet."

Sam and Sara were relieved to hear Liv cry right away and noticed her eyes were open. Sam called 911 and within four minutes, he said, Greenland police officer James Cormier arrived with a blanket and helped the couple as they awaited an ambulance.

"The cop was super helpful," Sam said. "He had a blanket and covered the baby. He was very soothing. He said, 'This isn’t the first time I’ve done this and you’re in good hands.'"

When the ambulance arrived, they clipped the umbilical cord. Sara and Liv were transported to Wentworth-Douglass, where they remained until Monday morning.

"It's nothing short of a miracle," Sam said.

Since Sara and Sam's story was picked up by various news outlets, the family has had quite the outpouring of response from both friends and social media users.

"What a cool thing to have when you’re 20-something and your mom is telling your story," Sara said. "It’s an amazing thing to have."

Sara and Liv are both healthy and home. Liv is getting to know her big brother, Ben, who is 2½.

"When you’re pregnant, you have a birth plan," Sara said. "I just think things never happen the way you want them to, they happen the way they’re supposed to happen. Obviously Liv had a different plan than I did."

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