Selma native Kenyatta Coleman planned to spend his New Year’s Day alone, working in Atlanta.

Coleman was sitting in his truck and posted a Facebook status, lamenting his situation.

“My day just wasn’t going so well,” he said.

Then he got a call that changed his life forever. He was going to be a father. His girlfriend Felicia Webb had just gone into labor at Vaughan Regional Medical Center.

Webb said her water broke just after 5 a.m. on New Years Day.

“I had just gotten up to drink some water,” she said. “I really didn’t know if the baby was actually coming. I thought maybe she had just kicked hard.”

Webb’s family drove her to the hospital and she found out that her baby girl would soon be born, one month before its due date.

When Coleman found out the news, he hopped on the interstate as quickly as possible and began driving to Selma. He wasn’t able to make it to the hospital in time for the delivery, but listened to the delivery on his cellphone during the drive.

Kelijah Coleman was born at 5:05 p.m. on New Years Day, weighing 5 pounds, 14 ounces. Nurses said the pregnancy was normal and Kelijah was healthy. She was the first baby born in Selma in 2014.

Coleman arrived shortly after the delivery, grinning from ear to ear.

“This baby was god sent,” he said. “I was down and depressed and god just sent me a blessing.”

Now a father, Coleman joked about the proper dating age for his daughter.

“What is the right age nowadays, 59?” he asked.

Once he finally caught a glimpse of his Kelijah, Coleman’s smile grew bigger and he began contemplating middle names with Webb.

The baby is Webb’s first. Webb said she was thrilled to be a mother and can’t wait to pamper her daughter.

“I’m actually glad that it’s a girl,” she said. “I am going to dress her up and she can be glamorous like me.”