Meet the 'Hurricane Ian baby.' She turns 2.

NORTH PORT — Two years ago, as Hurricane Ian walloped the Southwest Florida, a baby named Janis Ann Hart was born at Sarasota Memorial Hospital.

She was the first baby born on that fateful day in Sarasota County, thus becoming the "Ian Baby."

She is now 2 years old and the youngest of three children. Her older sisters, Jordis and Jesenia, are 9 and 4, respectively.

The family just powered through her second large storm, Hurricane Helene.

Her father, John Hart, said that their area near Atwater in North Port, luckily, did not have any damage or flooding from Helene.

The same could not be said during Ian, though.

And the birth of Janis on that day is a tale that her family will remember forever.

'It felt like I was in a video game'

On the morning of Sept. 28, Hart decided he would make breakfast.

The family knew Ian was about to strike, so he figured he should make his family a nice meal before the before the power inevitably went out.

Shutters were up and preparations were already made, so the family breakfast was held in a house that was much darker than usual.

Jessica, Hart's wife, then suddenly started to feel pain. Hart thought it was the breakfast he made.

"I thought I made it too spicy," he said.

But it turned out that she was actually starting the labor process.

So Jessica called her midwife and she was told to go to the hospital.

Hart would have to drive in stormy weather that was already beginning early in the morning. Doing so is not recommended, but they had no choice.

Heading up Price Boulevard it was already quite windy at 8 a.m., according to Hart.

Not quite the 140-mile-per-hour winds that would soon come, but gusty nonetheless.

The family made its way to Interstate 75 and in spite of having a large vehicle, they could not go over 65 miles per hour. It was too windy.

A thick veil of dark grey clouds in the sky and an orange LED sign that warned drivers of the incoming hurricane was ahead of them as they drove north.

On I-75, 18-wheelers were wobbling around as they frantically tried to get to their destination.

“It felt like I was in a video game," Hart said.

Jessica then tried to make another call to her midwife, but the phones were already out.

She did not want to go to the closer Sarasota Memorial Hospital location off of Laurel Road in Venice for her own reasons, and wanted everyone to be in the loop.

Hart asked if she was sure about that a number of times on the drive.

She was certain, so they made the trek to Sarasota.

ARRIVAL IN SARASOTA

The family made it to Sarasota in one piece.

After getting off the exit, they encountered significant damage.

Trees and power lines were already down and traffic lights were out.

“Thankfully, there wasn’t a lot of vehicles on the road at this point,” Hart said.

After a stressful ride, they made it to SMH.

Once inside, Hart looked out the window and said palm trees were being blown sideways.

SMOOTH SAILING THEREAFTER

Hart said things went smoothly after the hellacious drive up north.

Incredibly so, at that.

The labor even went well, with Hart saying Jessica laughed out the baby after a funny comment he made.

Some complications did come after, but nothing that could not be managed.

The family even got free diapers and wipes for around a year since Hart worked at Target and they had a surplus designated for employees post-Ian.

On top of that, when they arrived back in North Port, his parents' house already had power, while thousands of others did not. They were one of the first to have theirs restored, Hart said.

These days, Janis is doing great, according to Hart.

“She’s amazing. She’s going to be the only redhead of the bunch. We're so proud of all of our daughters," he said.

Janis likes to hang out with her grandma and loves fruit snacks.

In fact, she was fussing on the phone because her dad would not a give her a fifth bag of snacks while he was speaking to a reporter Friday, the day before her birthday.

Smiling while she was crying, Hart knew his clever daughter was faking it.

One of these days, Hart said, they will call her “Ian” when a hell storm of bad behavior comes. That day has not yet come, though.

“She certainly has a heck of a birth story," Hart said.