Baby boom for St. Cloud hospital staff brings 32 babies in 2018

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (FOX 9) - For the birthing unit at St. Cloud Hospital, 2018 brought in some special deliveries for the women who work there.

In all, 31 staff members gave birth. With one mother having twins, a total 32 babies arrived this year. It's a record number of newborns for the unit.

"I've had tons of people tell me when I was pregnant, 'Oh my gosh, every nurse in this place is pregnant' and we're like, 'Yeah, don't drink the water,'" said Nurse Dawn Henderson.

Staff began keeping tally with a new name, seeming to surface every few weeks. Health Unit Coordinator Gabrielle Sunder was the 11th pregnancy, Nurse Ashley Thoennes was the 21st.

"It's just crazy because names just kept popping up," said Ashley Thoennes, a nurse.

"You'd walk down the hallway and there's all of these bellies and people were like, 'Holy cow - there's another one,'" said Gabrielle Sunder, the health unit coordinator.

On Christmas Day, Nurse Henderson was the last of the medical staff to give birth.

"A while back they had 15 or 17 in one year and that was a lot, so I think this year was overwhelming overall for the whole unit," said Henderson.

"If we try to do a play date, it's going to be pure chaos," said Thoennes.

It's a baby boom that will keep these mothers connected for years to come.

"It's nice to know that your co-workers know and understand what you're going through and will back you up and are there for you," said Thoennes. "It's a special thing that we have going on here."

The birthing unit has already started compiling a list of names for next year. So far, 15 women are expecting.