“My wife said, ‘We’re probably going to have the baby today.’ And I said, “Do you want me to cancel the plumber?’ And she said, ‘No, I think we have plenty of time.”
But three hours after her first contractions — and 20 minutes into the plumber hooking up the water in their new Beavercreek home — the couple was out of time. And Megan realized she was going to give birth on their newly-rolled out living room rug.
“I go over to help my wife and she says, ‘I’m going to start pushing,’ and I say, ‘You can’t! I don’t know what to do,” Joshua Spears said.
As an officer with the Dayton Police Department, Joshua Spears said he has basic first aid training, but nothing related to delivering a baby. But as a nurse at Good Samaritan Hospital, Megan Spears said she used her own medical knowledge and research to coach him. Within seconds, dad was holding his daughter, keeping her warm against his body with his T-shirt.
“It was a very scary moment,” Megan said. “I look back and I think, ‘what if Josh had been outside loading the car? Hey, Mr. Plumber, do you want to come deliver a baby?’
“I just prayed that God would help me and it really felt like he saw all of us through,” she added.
The plumber finished his job of hooking up the family’s water, and the Spears got their healthy baby girl: 7-pounds, 2-ounces. Both mom and daughter were checked out at Miami Valley Hospital. The couple said they’d warn other parents to be ready to go as soon as contractions start. Overall, they said it was an amazing experience that will turn into a once-in-a-lifetime memory of how they first met their baby girl.
“Not many people get to say your dad delivered you in the living room unexpectedly,” Joshua Spears said. “Now I’ll be on baby call for awhile. We’ll see how that goes, too.
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