Kevin Neish and his wife Trish Stuart thought they had everything planned perfectly and every contingency covered for the arrival of their second child.

What they didn’t plan for was their newborn’s rush to be born in the wee hours of June 18.

“One of the policies from our midwife group’s perspective is that you would want to be in full-on labour before you go to the birthing centre,” Neish said.

But the father-to-be and his labouring wife never got the chance to make that trip. By 1 a.m. their baby daughter arrived – but not without the help of someone miles away.

“And that was the thing that I think was so reassuring for me. She could have been standing right there.” — Kevin Neish about 911 dispatcher walking him through the delivery.

Thanks to the instructions and soothing voice of 911 dispatcher Karen McKechnie, Kevin Neish got a crash course in safely delivering his baby girl.

On Thursday the Neish family met the face behind the soothing voice that gave them comfort, reassurance and helped them deliver little Olivia Lawryn Stuart-Neish into the arms of her father a mere six minutes after the initial 911 call was placed.

“Karen (McKechnie) instantly took charge,” Neish said, adding that the clearness of her voice and instructions was the greatest reassurance for the father-to-be at the time.

“And that was the thing that I think was so reassuring for me. She could have been standing right there,” he said.