Isaac Kershaw Payne was a world traveler before he was born in Coupeville on the weekend.

The baby boy’s mother, Jessica Uhl, had chosen Whidbey General Hospital for his birth and the family — including dad Michael and siblings Malou and Lucas — came from Den Haag, Netherlands, in June to welcome Isaac to the family.

“I found out I was pregnant in November. In the Netherlands you’re required to take off a month before the due date,” Uhl said. “I started thinking, wouldn’t it be nice to spend some time on Whidbey.”

Whidbey Island wasn’t just a lucky shot in the dark, though. The family knew the island because grandparents Helen and Martin Payne live between Langley and Freeland.

Soon the mom-to-be began asking her in-laws about the possibility of giving birth on the island. They connected her with a family friend, Barbara Read, who is a nurse at Whidbey General Hospital.

“It’s my third baby and I had mixed experiences before,” Uhl recalled. “Barbara said at Whidbey General, I would be treated like a princess.”

And the staff and doctors lived up to the promise.

“It was a really great birth,” Uhl said. “They are doing enough births that they know what they are doing but not enough to be too hectic.”

She said everything was great, from the helpful staff to the food.

Isaac arrived at 7:48 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 4, weighing in at 8 pounds, 11 ounces.

The labor and delivery experience was less stressful even before Uhl made it to the hospital.

“We appreciated that there were no cars on the road when I was in labor,” Uhl said.

No traffic is a big plus if you are used to metropolitan traffic in Amsterdam or Den Haag.

There was even enough time to enjoy Whidbey’s wildlife on the way to the hospital.

“And we saw a huge buck on the side of the road,” Uhl said.

It’s been a good time on South Whidbey for Isaac’s older siblings, too. Malou, 5 ½, and Lucas, almost 4, have enjoyed hanging out with grandma Helen and grandpa Martin and are very excited about their new baby brother.

“They are thrilled,” Uhl said. “The baby is as much theirs as it is mine.”

Grandpa Martin Payne said it is exciting to have a new grandchild be born on the island.

“We’re happy to be in a place she wanted to go,” he said.

But international grand-babies aren’t a new thing for him.

His daughter also recently gave birth in Colombia, South America.

“It been a summer of new family,” Payne said.

Isaac will get his first stamp in his brand-spankin’ new passport by the end of August when the family plans to return to the Netherlands.