BY JOHN DUNPHY
Staff Writer
JOHN DUNPHY The Herndon family will be featured in an upcoming episode of “A Baby Story” on TLC, which documents the pregnancy of Maureen Herndon with Daniel, her youngest of three children. Pictured (from l-r): Ashley, 4; mother Maureen, 32; Daniel, 3 months; father Robert, 34; and Alexa, 2. SAYREVILLE — Baby, you oughta be in pictures.
And even though 3-month-old Daniel Herndon doesn’t know it now, he’ll be the star on Sept. 21 when his parents are featured in the popular show “A Baby Story” on The Learning Channel (TLC).
Maureen Herndon, Daniel’s mother, has been a longtime fan of the reality television program, which follows a young family through a pregnancy.
When Maureen, 32, discovered she was pregnant with her third child last year, the Parlin resident took a chance at having her story featured by e-mailing the show.
“I was watching and it said, ‘If you want to be on the show, e-mail us,’ ” she said. “They sent a questionnaire and I sent them back something that was pages and pages long. I thought they wouldn’t pick me but they did.”
Though the couple, who have been married for almost five years, wanted to have a third child, they weren’t planning on having Daniel so soon.
“It was a surprise,” Maureen said. “But it was a welcome surprise.”
With about six weeks left in her pregnancy, the crew of “A Baby Story” set up at the family’s home for filming.
“They basically show the family as they grow and introduce a new baby into the household,” said Robert, 34.
“It’s mainly geared toward women and the different things that happen during pregnancies,” Maureen said.
Unlike with her other children — Ashley, 4, and Alexa, 2, — Maureen chose not to know the sex of her third child before birth.
“But Rob knew,” she said. “I didn’t want to find out, so he tormented me for nine months.
“I wanted at least one surprise,” Maureen added.
It would prove to be one of the few surprises in what she called a relatively straightforward pregnancy.
In her seventh month with her second child, Maureen contracted lysteria, a bacterial infection caused by contaminated foods. No such incidents happened with Daniel.
“I was so nervous,” she said. “With every ache and pain, I thought the worst. But it was fine.”
Six weeks after Daniel’s birth, the crew of “A Baby Story” returned for a follow-up.
Like many families with newborn babies, sleep has been a precious commodity. With three young children in the Herndon household and Maureen out of work on maternity leave, Robert has taken up the slack, occasionally working 16-hour days at his job as a corrections officer at the N.J. Training School for Boys in Monroe. To get adequate rest, he has routinely slept in the basement while mom deals with the baby.
“It’s hectic. We had one child on each hip, now we’ve got a third one,” Robert said. “It’s a lot of work but it’s fun work.”
Though Robert is employed in law enforcement, with the kids now outnumbering the parents, the children are starting to rule.
“I think the kids are about to take over the house,” he said with a laugh. “We’re holding it down, but they’ve almost got us.”
Like the rest of the world, Maureen and Robert won’t get to see the finished product until 2 p.m. on Sept. 21, and the anticipation is quickly mounting.
“I can’t wait to see what it looks like,” Maureen said. “We’re very excited.”
Maureen said the family will keep a copy of the program for Daniel to watch when he gets older.
“I’m sure he’ll love it—it’s a documentary about when he was born,” Maureen said.
Though the pregnancy was rather routine, some events filmed for the episode on “A Baby Story” certainly were not — but that would be giving away the ending.
“It was a great experience,” Maureen said. “A lot of people say [filming the pregnancy] takes away from your special moment, but it was a really good time.”