Woman who found baby in dumpster wants to hold him just once

The woman who jumped into a trash compactor to save a newborn spoke about the rescue for the first time, publicly, Monday.

Paula Andrews said she heard the baby’s cries at an Everett apartment complex Friday night, and because she acted that infant survived.

The baby was taken to Providence Medical Center in Everett and was in stable condition that night.

Jeff Meyers took these pics. He & his GF heard baby boy crying in #dumpster, may have saved his life. @KIRO7Seattle pic.twitter.com/RROdnCnnRf

— Joanna Small (@JoannaKIRO7) March 26, 2016

Andrews said that more than anything she would like to hold him again – just once.

“There’s a baby in a compactor, how can you just disregard a life like that?” Andrews asked.

She just throwing out garbage Friday when she found what someone else never should have thrown away.

“My heart’s instinct kind of felt like it was not a toy. When you’re a mother you know that scream, you know that cry,” Paula explained.

After police arrived it was Paula who sprung into action.

“I got back in (the) trash compactor, started moving trash and moved the microwave, and the baby was at the very bottom of the compactor,” Paula said.

The baby was under a microwave she had tossed into the compactor earlier that day.

Her boyfriend, Jeff Meyers, took a few pictures as police carried the newborn boy to safety.

“For lack of better terms, he was completely naked, absolutely a newborn, still covered in blood, umbilical cord still attached and for Paula to see this I just couldn’t imagine,” Meyers told us that night.

“I jumped out of the compactor, I fell to my knees and I just started crying. The emotions overtook me. I couldn’t fathom the fact I just found a baby in the compactor. It was a really emotional thing for me,” Andrews recounted.

And it still is for Andrews, who has two grown children of her own and a grandchild on the way. This little one isn’t part of her family but he is certainly now part of her heart.

“I would love to just meet the baby, hold the baby and feel that the baby is OK,” she concluded.

We called Providence to ask if that would be possible. They told us the baby was scheduled for release Monday and is in the custody of Child Protective Services. We also contacted the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services. Department offiicals said a meeting between Andrews and the baby would have to be coordinated and approved by law enforcement personnel and Children’s Administration.

Everett police say they’ve gotten lots of leads about who may have left the baby in the dumpster but none have panned out.