"The thing is," said KSTP-TV anchor Lindsey Brown, "I'm interested in the fact that I'm having a baby, but no one else is."
How very levelheaded. And how wrong. Brown clearly is unfamiliar with the number of times I have embarrassed myself by calling a TV anchor or reporter and asking if she's pregnant — because viewers noticed something and asked me to inquire. And then there's the time a TV anchor became super-angry after I wrote about her pregnancy prematurely because I thought that I could write about it when viewers started speculating about her condition on social media.
The preceding sentence is all the proof Brown should need of the level of interest viewers have regarding the baby news of TV people.
So let's dive into the confirmed pregnancy of Brown, who is more hungry for baby care tips than vegetables these days. Leave those tips at @lindseybrownnews on Instagram and @LindseyNews on Facebook. The baby is due to arrive in the middle of the State Fair.
Q: Tell me about pregnancy.
A: It's a very strange thing once you stop feeling bad. Once the nausea is gone and you start having a little more energy, that's when the body starts changing, which is, don't get me wrong, beautiful but weird. You can feel the stomach stretching.
Q: Have you been kicked yet?
A: Yeah. I'm 25, 26 weeks. The kicking started about 20.
Q: Any sitting on the bladder?
A: I've already been to the potty several times this morning.
Q: So you couldn't wait to find out what sex the baby is?
A: I could wait. My husband couldn't. It seems like that's the case sometimes. They say it's the last big surprise, so I was cool just to wait. Can you imagine at the final moment finding out — but my husband actually called to find out — he had to know.
Q: He could have found out and not told you.
A: Oh, no. He called the doctor's office, and I could just tell from his tone that it was a boy. He'd have been happy with a girl, but you know you can just tell when it's your husband or someone you know, a family member. He was just really tickled. He was like: "Oh, that's great news!"
Q: Do you know how to avoid getting squirted by a baby boy?
A: My former news director Anne Wittenborg told me about the whole phenomenon; these little teepees. She said I needed to register for this PeePee TeePee, and I still haven't.
Q: Are you going to make baby food?
A: It's tempting. I'm definitely not crafty in the kitchen, but it's tempting to save some money.
Q: Go to a farmers market, buy vegetables, wash them, steam them and toss them in a food processor. Voilà, baby food!
A: "Pregnant Lindsey" has not been wanting a whole lot of vegetables. I haven't wanted anything to do with them. You're going to get me in trouble with my mom.
Q: Tell me about the advice you've been getting from viewers.
A: Different moms will say just ignore all the advice. People are going to give you advice you don't want. I have the attitude of, "Tell me everything, even if it's something that doesn't sound right for me." Because I don't know what I'm doing. People have just been really sweet about the overarching theme of "you'll figure it out."
You can tell in my apartment — it's a tiny apartment; we love where we live, we're not leaving — we don't have a bunch of baby things out yet. I don't really want to do that whole baby explosion in a small apartment. People have been good about explaining what baby gadgets we do need. What their favorite gadgets were.
Q: I see some baby-proofing that's going to need to be done, around here.
A: [Laughter] Before you leave, make sure you point that out 'cause we don't know what we're doing. We are thinking with an infant, we're good. Once there's some movement, there are books and candles and glass. We like antiques so we're going to be, um, in trouble.