Alyse Sparkman used to read stories about babies born in unusual places and think, “That will never be me.”
Then she gave birth at a seafood restaurant.
“It was right out of a movie,” Alyse’s husband, Sean Sparkman, 35, tells TODAY.com.
On April 27, Alyse, who was 37 weeks along in her pregnancy, began experiencing consistent contractions. The Sparkmans were certain it was go time and headed to the hospital, but doctors concluded that Alyse wasn’t in active labor and sent her home.
At that point, the Sparkmans decided they would grab a light bite to eat at Lily’s Seafood Grill and Brewery in Royal Oak, Michigan. It was 75 degrees outside and they were excited to enjoy a meal on the patio.
Apparently, the couple’s unborn daughter was very eager to join them.
Alyse was still chewing her first bite of trout Caesar salad when she felt her water break. She alerted Sean to what was happening and he took off sprinting to get their car. He would have had to teleport to get back in time.
Two minutes after her water broke, Alyse had a newborn baby girl on her chest.
“I’m sitting at a light and she calls me and says, ‘I had the baby,’” Sean recalls. When Sean realized she wasn't kidding, he felt his heart sink.
"I was like, ‘Oh no, I can’t believe I missed it. I feel so bad,'" Sean recalls. "She goes, ‘Don’t feel bad — just get here!’”
In a stroke of luck, the Sparkmans were seated next to two retired nurses, who were able to untangle the baby’s umbilical cord, which was wrapped around her neck.
"She came out purple," Alyse says.
After the baby let out her first cry, fellow diners erupted into cheers and applause.
“God is good,” the Sparkmans say in unison.
The Sparkmans gave their daughter Penelope the middle name Lily in honor of where she made her entrance into the world.
“It really worked out because we had originally chosen Danielle, but we weren’t crazy about it,” Sean says. “We both love Lily.”
Penelope, who weighed 4 pounds, 8 ounces, at birth, was discharged from the hospital two days later alongside her mom. Penelope joined brothers Logan, 5, and Quill, 3.
The restaurant will be placing a plaque dedicated to Penelope Lily at the table where she was born — a gesture that Sean calls "pretty cool."