Expecting Together: From Co-Workers to Co-Parenting

Dawn Mattiello-Muckey is the Director of Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)–17th Emergency Department and oversees the ER float pool. In case you’re not familiar, the float pool isn’t something people swim in. It’s a pool of nurses who “float” among emergency rooms within the health network to fill in scheduling gaps as needed.

Recently, eight nurses from the ER float pool told Mattiello-Muckey they were all expecting babies within the span of just five months.

“They are spread out slightly, but I feel like I learned about all of the pregnancies right around the same time,” Matiello-Muckey says. “Scheduling-wise we’ll be fine since these nurses fill in as needed and their maternity leaves will be staggered. I’m just so excited for all of them. From first-time moms to the more experienced ones, there are so many sweet stories.”

Every pregnancy journey is different and this group certainly demonstrates that. From a mom who has dealt with infertility for many years, to one who is on her third pregnancy, their stories run the gamut.

One thing they do all have in common is appreciating having each other to lean on for pregnancy support and to share pregnancy resources.

Stephanie Fuentes was the first of the eight moms to give birth. Her third child, a daughter, was born on Valentine’s Day.

“It was special to be surrounded by pregnant coworkers,” Fuentes says. “I felt like I could be a good pregnancy resource for the first-time moms. We have two boys and now our girl, so our family is complete.”

Three of the eight moms have given birth so far. Jenna Horan had a boy, and Gagandeep Kaur gave birth to her daughter, Samaya.

“It has been such an amazing experience being pregnant around the same time as my coworkers,” Kaur says. “Pregnancy is a beautiful journey and having so many coworkers to bond with over the joys and challenges of pregnancy made it extra special.”

Jessica Bealer is due next on May 11. She is pregnant with her first child, a boy, and is excited for this unexpected surprise, saying, “I was told I wouldn’t be able to have children naturally, but here he is!”

Three of the moms are due within a week of one another at the end of June. Mollie Charles is having a boy, her second child. Brittanie Sabulsky is due with her first child, a girl, and Taylar Velten is due June 30.

Catie Sinator is the final expectant mom of the group and she’s the only one waiting until the birth to learn the sex of her baby.

Sabulsky has been open about her struggles with infertility: “Throughout my journey I’ve had many rounds of IVF. This is our miracle baby. I know several women have dealt with infertility and the support from everyone made all the difference in that journey as well. I think it’s an important topic to be open about.”

The moms-to-be have a group chat called “Preggo Floats” where they can share pregnancy resources and pregnancy support when they aren’t just down the hall from each other at work. Mattiello-Muckey also got in on the baby action when she recently became a grandmother.

“It’s been wonderful,” Mattiello-Muckey says. “It is truly heartwarming to witness the joy, radiant smiles and beautiful glow that comes with this special time in each of their lives.”

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