Couple welcomes 1 pound 'miracle baby' born on cruise ship

But Emily's labor pains kept getting worse.

"At 1:20 a.m., the doctor came over, looked at me and said, 'Keep your legs closed. Don't push because we are not porting for another 14 hours,'" Emily told KSL.

She couldn’t wait.

“I am pushing because this baby is coming. I know!” she said.

30 minutes later, Haiden was born at 1 pound, 8 ounces.

Initially, medical staff believed the baby was born dead. When Emily asked to see the baby, the staff denied her request.

Then, the unexpected happened.

"About 45 minutes after I had delivered, the two doctors came back in and said the baby was still alive,” Emily said. “However, they didn't expect him to live very long."

Emily and the medical staff worked to keep Haiden warm until the ship docked later that day.

The ship’s captain, who believed the baby was dead, called Emily hours after her delivery.

“I was sitting with the baby, and he could hear the baby crying," she said. "And he said, 'Wait a minute, he's alive?' And I said, 'He is.' He said, ‘We are going as fast as we can, and we'll port two hours early in San Juan, and we'll get you guys to the hospital,’ but he said, ‘That's as fast as I can get you there.’"

The cruise ship docked in Puerto Rico in the time the captain had promised.

After spending three days in Puerto Rico and making numerous phone calls, the Morgnas were able to get a medical transport plane to fly them to a Miami hospital. They’ll spend the next month there.

"His feet are 2 inches long and his hands are about an inch and a half," Emily said. "His body length is about 13 inches, but his lungs were fully developed, so his prognosis is good,” she said. "On a daily basis they tell us he's a miracle baby and that he wants to be here."