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Lauren Lowrey surprises Daybreak with baby announcement

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Daybreak anchor Lauren Lowrey announced Thursday she and her husband are expecting their first child.

Lowrey surprised co-anchor Scott Sander, meteorologist Randy Ollis and the rest of the Daybreak crew during a Throwback Thursday segment on Daybreak. The #TBT segment had a Mother’s Day theme and featured members’ and viewers’ pictures with their mothers. Watch the segment in the video player above.

Lowrey’s picture was the last to air in the segment. It showed her holding the sonogram snapshot, announcing publicly she was going to be a first-time mom.

“The only person in the newsroom who knew was our Executive Producer,” says Lowrey. “I knew I wanted it to be a fun reveal for the viewers, but our producer was the one who came up with the idea to make it a total surprise for everybody in the studio.”

Lowrey admits she had a difficult time keeping it a secret from her co-workers while she dealt with morning sickness, changes in appetite and the avoidance of after-work get-togethers with friends. She says even viewers noticed a change in her appearance.

“I’ve gotten a few emails and messages from viewers asking me, very pointedly, about whether I am pregnant,” says Lowrey. “Randy Ollis even got a Facebook message last week asking the same thing – so, he read it out loud to everyone in the studio one morning and I did a horrible job denying it. I knew I couldn’t keep it secret any longer, so timing the announcement just before Mother’s Day seemed perfect.”

Lowrey says she’s most looking forward to the new chapter for her family, saying this will be the first grandchild for her parents and only the second for her husband’s parents.

Lowrey is four months along. She and her husband are expecting a little girl in October.

Read Lowrey’s letter to viewers below:

I first learned I was pregnant on Valentine’s Day and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. My husband and I always knew we wanted to start a family, but for the first time ever, it was real – and it was on a day that symbolizes the exact emotion that started it all.

For weeks, I struggled to keep the news a secret – especially at times when I had to taste-test food that made my stomach turn (like this time on Daybreak with the Marshmallow Peeps milk. If you watch the video closely, you’ll see me wince as I take a sniff. Smelling was my first mistake.)

I wanted to tell my co-workers the news, but had to keep it quiet at least until we could go home to South Carolina to surprise our parents with the great news. While we were packing the car to drive south, we received the phone call from the doctor revealing the gender: it’s a girl.

A girl?! My husband was thrilled at the idea of having a little girl whose finger he’ll be wrapped around. While I, on the other hand, have now become even more anxious with the news. Not only do I have anxiety with the overall health of the baby and the pure hope for ten fingers and toes, but now I have to worry about her self-esteem and her ability to rise above the pain of growing up.

I’m a girl. Being a girl is hard. How will I raise a powerful girl who is secure and creative, who’s strong and capable, who’s intelligent and fearless? It seems so daunting. Frankly, I’m still working on my absolute fear of the concept. From what I understand, that feeling may never go away.

I do want to say “thank you” to the viewers who’ve been writing to me, asking whether I was pregnant. I could never answer you directly before now, but now I’m excited to shout it from the rooftops – although I think my belly will do it for me.

Little Baby L is due in October, so in the next 5 months, I’ll put together a nursery and buy all the little necessities that go along with an infant. But the biggest gift of all will be the ability to spend the holidays with my family as we celebrate the newest member who will no doubt bring so much more meaning to our lives.

Thanks for watching and for being part of such a huge milestone for my husband and me,

Lauren