Firefighter delivers Thanksgiving baby in bowling alley parking lot
Andy Smith also delivered first baby of 2014
Newborn Ryland Hochscheid is spending his first Thanksgiving in his mother’s arms.
Ashley Hochscheid delivered Ryland in the front passenger seat of her car in the parking lot of Colerain Bowl early Thanksgiving morning.
Ashley and her husband, Terry Hochscheid, were on their way to Christ Hospital when Ryland decided he couldn’t wait any longer. Terry pulled over and called 911 for help.
"Once I got to the point where I needed to push him out, then it got intense and I was like, just get him out, get him out now," Ashley Hochscheid said.
Ryland is the couple's second son, but the first delivery for Terry. He missed the birth of their first son, Kasson, by about six hours due to his military service with the Ohio National Guard.
Minutes after Hochscheid called 911, Colerain Fire and EMS was on scene.
"She did absolutely great. She's by far the toughest person I know, the fact that she was able to get through that. A few loud screams, that was pretty much it," Terry Hochscheid said.
Colerain firefighter Andy Smith delivered Ryland around 12:15 a.m.
"It’s just second nature for me now. It was just ‘make sure mom is good, make sure baby was good.’ It was a perfect delivery, so there were no complications, no nothing," Smith said.
Ryland is Smith's seventh delivery in his 15-year career and his second this year. Smith delivered the first baby of the year in Cincinnati on New Year’s Day.
"It's an amazing thing to be able to deliver a child into the world and especially to be able to do it on a holiday," Smith said.
Colerain Bowl owner Mickey Heeg had no idea a baby was born in her parking lot, but she was glad it happened in a family place.
"What better way to start off a Thanksgiving," Heeg said. "She may not have made it to the hospital, but she made it here and everything went well and I hope them all the luck in the world."
Weighing in at eight pounds, one ounce, Ryland was due to arrive on Thanksgiving. He is expected to head home Friday.
The Hochscheids told WLWT News 5 that they plan on having Ryland’s first birthday party at Colerain Bowl.