JACKSON TWP., Pa. - Ellie LaRose kept her parents waiting, but when her time came, she was born quickly.
In fact, she was born so quickly her parents, Keilah Moffitt and Phillip LaRose, couldn't even make it to the hospital in time, and Ellie was born at home.
They tried to get around for the 20-minute drive to York Hospital around 4 a.m. Sunday. They had been restless since Ellie was three days overdue, and were excited for the new addition to their family.
"By the time I got out of the shower, I was only in there for like, three minutes, I felt her coming, and I told him, 'She's coming!'" Moffitt said.
But LaRose was able to keep his girlfriend calm throughout the surprise delivery.
"You have that moment of 'Oh, what do I do,'" LaRose said. "Then, we made our way to the bedroom, laid her down and I checked her and sure enough, right there, right there was [Ellie's] head."
LaRose chalks up his calm through the delivery to his time as a firefighter with the Nashville Volunteer Fire Company in Jackson Township.
"It was bam, bam, bam, right there, so there wasn't too much time to really think and let everything set in," he said. "I just knew I had to do something."
Although his fire training does not include a chapter on childbirth, Moffitt says he delivered their daughter admirably.
"It was definitely scary," she said. "I was scared, but him being so calm definitely helped keep me calm."
Keilah and Ellie eventually made it to the hospital for observation, and everything checked out just fine.
"It had more to do with just the calmness under pressure, having to react in a moment's notice and have that 'This is what I gotta do, this is the right thing to do,'" LaRose said.
Coincidentally, a few months ago, LaRose says had asked their doctors if he could help deliver Ellie. They collectively laughed it off, not knowing that he would end up delivering his daughter after all.