MOUNT VERNON — Jacob Jonathan Lanning entered this world on Nov. 7, 2010, and the whole world was watching — sort of. His birth at Riverside Methodist Hospital was filmed as part of Lifetime TV’s documentary series “One Born Every Minute,” and will be aired at 10 p.m. on Tuesday.
Jacob’s mother and father, Carisa and Brian Lanning gave permission for the filming because they thought it would be “something really neat and special” to show their son someday.
“I will joke with Jacob that he [urinated] on national TV,” said Carisa. “Right when he was born the first thing he did was [urinate]. I will never forget that.”
Carisa, head softball coach at Mount Vernon High School, said the filming during her labor and Jacob’s delivery was not at all intrusive even though cameras and microphones were placed in four delivery rooms, hallways, the lounge area, the nurse’s station and elsewhere in the maternity unit at Riverside.
“Unlike with some reality shows,” she said, “[Lifetime] had four cameras mounted in the delivery room. They controlled them from another room, so you forgot they were there. I actually forgot I was miked, and I said some things I do not remember saying. I might not live certain things down. ... My softball girls are going to see a different side of me when our segment airs on Feb. 15.”
The “One Born Every Minute” series started on Feb. 1, so the first episode already aired: There were a couple of snippets of Brian and Carisa on the first episode.
The Lannings will not get to see their episode before it airs. “After it airs,” Carisa said, “they will send us copies of it. It will be unedited, so we’ll actually get to see the entire thing. Which is pretty cool.”
Besides being filmed for national television, Jacob’s birth was special in another way.
“It’s pretty much of a miracle,” Carisa said. “I had a procedure done to remove cancerous cells and my doctor said there was no way I could get pregnant then and carry the baby to term. We got pregnant four weeks after that surgery. We were very blessed.”
Jacob Jonathan Lanning weighed 7 pounds 15 ounces and was 19 inches long when he was born. His older siblings are 15-year-old Brittany Lanning and 14-year-old Michael Lanning. Grandparents are Belinda Lanning and Rick Doup of Mount Vernon and Deborah and Jack Frysinger of Fort Myers, Fla.
