ATLANTA — An Atlanta family received a blessing when their baby girl was born in a McDonald's restroom a year ago. Now, as she celebrates her first birthday, the restaurant gave them a generous gift.
McDonald’s has gifted the family a college fund for Nandi Ariyah Moremi Phillips’s future education at her birthday party. Each year, $1,000 will go towards the college fund before she goes off into the world.
"We don't want her to think about how she is going to pay for college," said Steve Akinboro, local McDonald’s owner of the restaurant.
Baby Nandi, nicknamed "Little Nugget," wasn’t so little as she walked around the McDonald’s where she was born, gazing at her birthday gifts with the biggest smile on her face.
"Little Nugget" then dug her tiny hands into a piece of her Happy Meal cake with her parents as everyone giggled and cheered her on.
'Little Nugget' enters the world unexpectedly
Birth can be super exciting but unexpected. A year ago, Alandria Worthy stopped for what she thought would be a quick bathroom break at the McDonald's on Fulton Industrial Blvd.
She started getting contractions earlier that day. As the contractions grew stronger, they packed their things to rush to the hospital. That's when they stopped for the not-so-quick break, which quickly turned into a speedy delivery.
"I immediately felt like I had to use the bathroom," Worthy explained. "So we stopped by McDonald's to use the bathroom."
Worthy said she started screaming, and the general manager for the McDonald's, Tunisia Woodward, came in to help. Woodward and her two colleagues, Sha’querria Kaigler and Keisha Blue-Murray, quickly sprung into action.
"She was like, 'Are you okay?' and I was like, 'No, I'm in labor,'" Worthy said. "I said, 'Somebody get the man in the car - I need him!'"
Her fiancé, Deandre Phillips, quickly ran in once he noticed the "quick" bathroom was taking longer than expected.
"He ran into them at the same time and said, 'Babe, are you alright?' and I said, 'No, she's coming. She's coming," Worthy added. "I was like, 'We're about to have a baby,' and his instincts kicked in immediately."
Three pushes and less than 15 minutes later, their blessing, Baby Nandi, was born. The couple says it was "divine intervention" that brought them to McDonald's to get help from the three women.
A Golden Arches reunion
A week after "Little Nugget" entered the world, the McDonald's employees held an after-birth baby shower for the family with a Golden Arches reunion.
"This is a moment I’ll never forget," Blue-Murray added. "I’m just excited to see the baby. I’m ready to see Nandi or Little Nugget. I want to see their face. I’m just ready for the reaction."
As Worthy walked into the place where she gave birth to her daughter, she was greeted with decorations. Her fiancé, who also helped deliver Nandi, walked in right behind her while carrying the newborn as the employees who helped deliver the baby talked to the baby.
"Hello, nugget," McDonald's Acting General Manager Woodward exclaimed. "Welcome, baby nugget. This is our McDonald's team."
The three McDonald's workers are all mothers and cooked up the baby shower for the nugget they helped deliver. They set up balloons, cakes, and gifts just outside the bathroom that served as Worthy's delivery room in a perfect way to reminisce on the marveling birth.