"Baby on board" has a brand new meaning for one Dunedin family after a woman gave birth while celebrating the Fourth of July on the water.
PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – “Baby on board” has a brand new meaning for one Florida family after a woman gave birth while celebrating the Fourth of July on the water.
John and Amber Easterday, along with their two children, took a pontoon boat out on Old Tampa Bay on Saturday.
“We had a boat reservation that day and we were going to go out like we normally do. We had another family with us, Jessica and Travis Gregg. They really helped out through all of this,” said Amber Easterday. “So we went out and about 30 minutes into our boat ride, the contractions definitely started.”
Amber immediately called her doctor.
“He had told me, ‘wait a little bit,’ and within 40 minutes from that time I talked to him, the baby was out,” she said. “We couldn’t make it back to the dock to deliver. My husband had called 911.”
John says he began delivering his son while the boat headed for the shores of Courtney Campbell Beach.
“I said, ‘Travis, you need to go to the beach.’ I pointed out and said ‘Do you see the beach there? Yeah okay, go now! Fast!’” John recalled.
John was able to get to the Courtney Campbell beach around 5:30 p.m. where Fire Medic Kenny Sweitzer and Fire Medic Tyler Whitfield were waiting. Just four minutes later, the family welcomed baby Aiden – 10 days early.
John even got to cut the umbilical cord.
“Probably about three to four minutes from when they boarded the boat to when the baby was out, and I was cutting the umbilical cord,” said John.
Amber and Aiden were taken to Mease Countryside Hospital and are doing well. Amber tells WFLA she plans to be discharged Monday evening.
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