With two daughters, four-year-old Autumn and two-year-old Roseylnn, life can get a little hectic inside Christine King's apartment in Green.
But the frantic activity meter really ramped up on Thanksgiving. The family was celebrating Autumn's birthday when King's third child decided he was just about ready to enter the world one week from his due date.
King began experiencing back labor and jumped in the shower, hoping to calm the pain, but then the contractions started to intensify.
She called a neighbor over who dialed 911.
"I made it from the shower to my couch with my contractions, trying to answer the door because I heard them [first responders] at the door. They were knocking and I tried to open the door, but I had a bad contraction by the couch and my water broke," King said.
Green fire medics Lt. Jasen Bryan, Brandon Beeson and Joe Dies responded to the apartment on Mayfair Road.
King made it no further than the apartment hallway and onto a stretcher when it became clear that the baby wasn't waiting any longer.
In fact, Lt. Bryan said the baby was delivered in less than a minute.
"The baby's head was crowning and I said, 'Baby, baby, baby' and we delivered the baby rather rapidly," Bryan said.
King, whose other two babies were delivered in hospitals, was stunned by how quickly the baby boy arrived.
Asked what she thought as the baby was delivered, she laughed and said, "Ouch! I wanted an epidural so bad. He was just coming whether they helped or not."
The baby, named Landon Alan, weighed in at seven pounds, eight ounces and was healthy, to the relief of everyone involved.
After Bryan "caught" Landon, Dies cut the cord.
"We got him warmed up, suctioned his airway, and it was time to cut and clamp the cord," Dies said.
Beeson, who was planning to drive one patient to the hospital, suddenly had two patients.
"At three in the morning, you go from dead sleep to delivering a baby within a 10-minute period," Beeson said.
King described Landon as a very sweet baby who goes to sleep easily and doesn't fuss.
He was born Nov. 24, just a few hours after his sister's birthday.
His mother believes he wanted his own day and his own unforgettable story to tell one day.
King said she will tell him, "You were a hallway baby!"
The fire medics said they were glad to be there for the unusual but precious moment.
"It was definitely a unique situation, but it was what we had to do because that baby was coming. It had its own ideas," Bryan said.
King said she'll be forever grateful to the first responders and plans to visit the fire station soon and thank them in person for delivering Landon.
"He's happy and healthy," she said.
