3 coworkers, 3 babies

COLDWATER - Three Mercer Health coworkers got some very precious, and somewhat unexpected, gifts just before the holidays.

Bridget Geier, 26, Natalie Will, 27, and Olivia Grieshop, 27, all registered nurses working for Mercer Health's Childbirth Center, gave birth within a day and a half of each other with the help of another Mercer Health coworker, Dr. David Rosado.

While two of the moms, Geier and Grieshop, were relatively close in due date, they hadn't expected to be delivering their children so close to each other. Will's labor, too, came as a bit of a surprise - Geier and Grieshop had been due Dec. 8 and Dec. 21, respectively, but Will wasn't supposed to be due until Jan. 10.

Geier was the first to deliver. At 7:20 a.m. Dec. 16, she welcomed her first child, Jackson, into the world. At that point, she said, she knew her coworker Grieshop was also in labor. Geier said that after Grieshop delivered her little girl, Scarlett, around noon, she texted her congratulations. The next day, both Geier and Grieshop were shocked to hear that Will had gone into labor, too.

Will said she came into work at 7 a.m. Dec. 17 and ended up in labor not long after. Her five-hour labor went quickly, she said, and at 1:46 p.m., baby Samantha was born. It was lucky that just the day before she had finished wrapping Christmas presents and packed up her hospital bag.

Geier said that Jackson was a wonderful Christmas present, especially with him being her and husband Ryan's first child. The Geiers hadn't known the sex of their baby beforehand, and had actually speculated he would be a girl. Still, even if they didn't have anything picked out for him but his name, Geier said she and her husband were thrilled to have their baby boy with them.

Though her appearance was a few weeks early, Samantha's been doing well too, Will said, and she has been a joy to her family. Samantha's two older siblings love her so far, and have even taken to checking on her in her crib and offering to feed her.

Grieshop's little girl, Scarlett, hasn't had quite the same bonding experience with her almost-two-year-old brother - he's a bit jealous of all the attention little Scarlett is getting, Grieshop said. Still, Grieshop said her family was doing well and were happy to have Scarlett with them.

The three moms said they were happy they had delivered at Mercer Health, feeling comfortable among their friends and coworkers.

"It's always an experience having my kids up there because I know everybody who works there, they always take such good care of you and it's just a great atmosphere," Grieshop said.

Rosado, who works with all three moms and also delivered Jackson, Scarlett and Samantha, was also very proud, Grieshop said. Even when the women were his coworkers rather than his patients, he had a habit of checking in on them to see how they were doing.

"He always goes above and beyond to help out us patients," Grieshop said. "To have him as your doctor, you kind of get an extra little bond between the doctor and yourself, so it was really neat."

The three women plan on keeping in touch over the next few weeks, and possibly getting together to take pictures as the kids hit different age milestones. They all came together after giving birth to take a picture with Rosado in the hospital, and Geier said that they would probably gather for another picture in six months or a year.

For now, though, with the bustle of the holidays and introductions to the extended family largely over and done with, the moms plan on spending some quality time with their new bundles of joy.