This Was Expected, Right???

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode Title: This Was Expected, Right???
Date: May 15, 2026
Host: Armstrong & Getty
Guest: Katie Green (News Anchor)
Podcast Network: iHeartPodcasts

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Episode Overview

This heartwarming episode centers on a significant life update from longtime news anchor and friend of the show, Katie Green. Calling in from the hospital, Katie announces the birth of her first child, Donovan, and candidly shares her labor and delivery experience, her current feelings, the emotional highs and humorous chaos of new parenthood, and how her family is adjusting to this major milestone. The conversation is filled with warmth, humor, and relatable moments for anyone who's navigated the transition to parenthood.

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Key Points & Major Discussion Segments

1. Announcement: Katie’s Big News

[01:18] – [01:28]

• Katie cheerfully confirms: “Yes. I'm alive and baby Donovan is here and he's doing great.”
• The co-hosts express excitement and congratulations.

2. The Birth Story: What Actually Happened

[02:04] – [05:23]

• Katie details her labor:
  • Planned for a natural birth, but spent 26 hours in active labor before opting for a C-section.
  • “...My doctor looked at me. He's like, ‘You haven't. Nothing's changed at all.’ And so I finally just opted for a C-section, which. Wow, that was an experience I've never imagined. Being sliced basically in half while awake.” — Katie Green [02:52]
• Describes the odd feeling of being awake during a major surgery:
  • “There was no sharp pain or anything like that, but you can definitely feel the pressure and the pulling and the tugging.” — Katie Green [04:16]
• Husband’s reaction:
  • Drew (Katie's husband) watched the procedure. “He saw the doctor remove all of my insides and place them aside.” — Katie Green [04:27]
  • Some light, humorous banter about Drew now having seen Katie’s liver.

3. Baby’s First Moments & Quick NICU Visit

[04:50] – [06:06]

• Donovan briefly sent to NICU for fluid in his lungs, but was back and healthy by 3am.
• Katie and the team reflect on the “baby is cute” platitude, agreeing not all newborns are immediately adorable, but Donovan bucks the trend.
  • “Your baby looks like the kind of baby that you want to put on, like, a baby food jar or something.” — Co-host [05:23]

4. Physical Recovery & Hospital Observations

[06:15] – [07:03]

• Katie feels “shockingly good” and is up and walking, though nurses tell her to rest more.
• Typical hospital comedy:
  • “I thought it was weird that I burped and a part of my intestine came out of my mouth, but, you know, whatever.” — Katie Green [06:56] (joking about recovery)

5. Parenthood: Emotions and Instincts

[07:19] – [09:27]

• Katie and the co-hosts discuss the profound love that comes with becoming a parent:
  • “So far, it is a love that I didn't know was even possible. ...I want to do anything and everything I can for the rest of my life to protect this little guy. He's just. He's completely melted both of us.” — Katie Green [07:31]
• The co-host shares a classic parent moment:
  • “If the house caught on fire, I'm getting the kids out, and if you get out, fine... the kids are getting out, and you're the second priority.” — Co-host [07:51]
• Katie describes her desperate need to see her baby right after surgery, attempting to get up before she was allowed.

6. Hospital Life: Sleep? Not Really

[10:29] – [12:20]

• Comedic complaints about the hospital routine:
  • “Somebody comes in every five minutes and interrupts you while you're trying to sleep and then says, you get some rest. It's important you get some rest.” — Co-host [10:29]
  • Katie describes, “My favorite one was yesterday, though, where she came in... said, okay, 'you get some rest. I'll be back at 6:40.' And I looked up at the clock, I was like 6:40s in 12 minutes.” [11:06]
• Multiple teams rotating through, and the exhaustion of new parenthood begins.

7. Baby Details & Naming

[09:55] – [13:05]

• Donovan’s birth measurements:
  • “Five pounds, 15.6 ounces and 18 and a half inches long.” — Katie Green [10:02]
• Why "Donovan J.":
  • “We're both very Irish, so it's a strong Irish name. My grandfather's name was Don or Donald, and so we went with Donovan. And then J is my dad's middle name.” — Katie Green [12:46]

8. Family Reactions & Support

[13:33] – [14:10]

• Grandparents (Katie’s parents) are ecstatic.
  • “Seeing them sitting here and my dad, he holds, he holds Donovan the way he held me and my mom keeps going. He's gonna get a crick in his neck.” — Katie Green [13:41]
• Touching moments seeing her parents with Donovan melts her heart unexpectedly.

9. Getting Ready to Go Home

[14:37] – [15:32]

• Katie shares that she’s being discharged the day of the call.
• Prepping the family dog (Frankie) by sending home a blanket with Donovan’s scent.
• Gratitude for well-wishes from listeners:
  • “So many sweet messages... I'm glad to let everybody know, hey, I'm here. I'm alive. Donovan's alive. Drew is alive. I didn't kill him either.” — Katie Green [15:16]

10. The Surreal Shift: Hospital to Home

[15:32] – [16:43]

• Hosts reflect on the strange transition from hospital (with all its support) to the reality of being home as a new family.
  • “You drive to the hospital... you leave, there's three of you.” — Co-host [15:32]
• Katie’s dad’s advice about “real what the f…” moments beginning at home.
• Katie’s new reality: “I have this giant red button where if anything happened where I'm even remotely unsure, I hit that, and somebody comes running. Now I am the big red button, you know?” — Katie Green [16:27]

11. Wrapping Up

[16:43] – [16:52]

• Final congratulations, advice to drive home with hazard lights on.
• Katie is cheery and eager to head home: “Alright, I will. Thank you guys.”

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Notable Quotes

• “Being sliced basically in half while awake.” — Katie Green [02:52]
• “He saw the doctor remove all of my insides and place them aside.” — Katie Green [04:27]
• “So far, it is a love that I didn't know was even possible.” — Katie Green [07:31]
• “My pain level... I’ve been between a two and a three, and I think I hit a five, like, once.” — Katie Green [06:24]
• “My favorite one was yesterday... said, ‘you get some rest. I'll be back at 6:40.’ And I looked up at the clock, I was like 6:40s in 12 minutes.” — Katie Green [11:06]
• “It's just been one after the other. Drew had to leave yesterday for like 30 minutes. And I think five different departments came in...” — Katie Green [11:36]
• “I have this giant red button... Now I am the big red button, you know?” — Katie Green [16:27]

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Overall Tone

The episode balances humor and warmth, mixing vivid storytelling, self-deprecating jokes, honest emotions, and raw, real-life moments. It’s approachable, relatable, and energizing—a genuinely personal peek into the most life-changing few days in Katie’s life, all recounted in her trademark candid, witty style.

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:18] Katie announces Donovan's birth
• [02:04] Story of labor & delivery
• [04:27] The C-section experience and Drew’s reaction
• [07:31] Katie describes the overwhelming love of motherhood
• [10:02] Baby’s stats (weight & length)
• [11:06] Hospital rest comedy
• [12:46] Explaining Donovan’s name
• [13:41] Grandparents’ reactions
• [14:37] Discharge plans and bringing baby home
• [16:27] Transitioning to being “the big red button”

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This episode is a delightful and honest account of becoming a new family, with humor, heart, and intimate moments at every turn.

Transcript

[Katie Green]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.

[Podcast Host / Advertiser]

Tired of juggling sales tools or spending hours on prospecting just to book a few meetings? Meet Apollo, the go to market platform for finding leads, connecting with buyers, and closing deals all in one place. Apollo gives you access to over 210 million contacts and AI that handles all your busywork, finding leads, drafting emails, and even prioritizing your day. So stop paying for five different sales tools when one does it all. Visit Apollo I.O. and sign up free today. Katie, Katie the news lady bringing life to the air.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host / Advertiser]

A smile so bright and a style so light?

[Katie Green]

You can't help but stop and stare?

[Co-host / Interviewer]

Can't help but stop and stare?

[Podcast Host / Advertiser]

Breaking stories with a twist? She's got a gift so rare. Katy. Katy.

[Katie Green]

Oh, man.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

With a smile so bright and something or other. I don't know. I don't remember the lyrics, but that is really good. It's a song that AI made about Katie Green. Katie. Katie, the news lady who joins us now. Katie, you have a special announcement to make.

[Katie Green]

Yes. I'm alive and baby Donovan is here and he's doing great.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

You had a baby?

[Katie Green]

I had a baby.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

And this was expected, right?

[Katie Green]

Yes. This is very well planned out.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

You know, you've seen those shows Pregnant and didn't know it.

[Katie Green]

Or they'll just say, yeah, what was it? What did we say? I was like, oh, so you're not just stupid and fat, right?

[Co-host / Interviewer]

No, no. We've been talking. If you're just.

[Katie Green]

If you've.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

This is the first time you've ever listened to this show. Yes. Katie has been talking about her and her husband starting a family and the whole pregnancy and everything for a very, very long time. Anyway, what do you want to tell us? You're a mom now, which is very, very exciting. Congratulations. What's the move?

[Katie Green]

Thank you. The mood is great for the whole, you know, first time, especially first time moms, they're like, oh, well, you know, make sure you create a birth plan. Yeah. Shred it there. There's no way to know, but I was in labor actively for 26 hours and. And this little dude, I've been telling all the nurses that I pictured him like a cat over a bathtub. He just didn't, you know, on all sides want to come out. I like it in here. Yeah. I don't want to see the world. I hear it's crap. So. So finally, after 26 hours, my doctor looked at me. He's like, you haven't. Nothing's changed at all. And so I finally just opted for A C section, which. Wow, that was an experience I've never imagined. Being sliced basically in half while awake.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

You were awake for that? I don't know anything about C sections because I didn't have to do it. And I have no reason to read up on them since I didn't have to deal with it. So you were awake, right?

[Katie Green]

Yeah. So the initial plan was obviously to have a natural birth, but not natural in the sense I wanted all the drugs. So I had an epidural and then they decided to take out the epidural and put in, I guess, a spine. They called it a spinal. So it numbed me basically from mid chest to my toes.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

Yeah. I would want whatever they gave Michael Jackson just short of that.

[Katie Green]

Yeah, that's what I was hoping for. But they. They did that and they numbed me out and wheeled me back to the or. And my doctor was just freaking incredible. But I got wheeled into the OR at 7pm on Tuesday, and Donovan's official time of birth when they got him out of me was 7:57. But I was awake for the whole thing. And you. It. It's. It's. Wow. I'll bet.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

I can't. I can't even imagine.

[Katie Green]

And, you know, and there was no. There was no sharp pain or anything like that, but you can definitely feel the pressure and the pulling and the tugging.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

Oh, the pulling and the tugging. Yeah.

[Katie Green]

Drew said he saw. He saw the doctor remove all of my insides and place them aside.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

Holy crap. I defended.

[Katie Green]

Yeah. I don't.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

I honestly don't know if I could have watched that. Good on your husband, I guess. I don't know if it's necessary. He sees your insides. He's now seed your liver. So he's, you know, he knows what that looks like. Yeah, it's probably cute and blonde like you.

[Katie Green]

Yeah. Or. Or damaged. One of the two. Yeah, He. He. He looked at it and he was like, what? He was like, I saw all of your insides outside of you. And I was like, okay. Well, yeah. And then they got Donovan out and they had to take him over to the NICU because he had some fluid in his lungs and whatnot. But they took him over there at 8pm and he was back in our room with us doing just fine by 3:00am and he's just darling.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

Yeah. That's fantastic. That is. That is a cute baby. And I know everybody says that. I don't always say that. I just say nothing. Because sometimes babies look weird and it's not there. Doesn't mean they're not gonna be cute later. It's just, you know, they've been crunched up in a body forever, and your baby looks like the kind of baby that you want to put on, like, a baby food jar or something.

[Katie Green]

I really appreciate that. And I'm so with you on, like, the alien baby thing. I've had that conversation so many times where it's like, oh, look how cute that baby is. I'm like, no, no, it's not. It will be, but right now it is not cute.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

Yeah, that happens.

[Katie Green]

He's. He's definitely. All the nurses who have come in have been like, oh, my gosh. He's actually really cute. Yeah.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

Really is. It's a very cute baby.

[Katie Green]

Yeah. I put him on Instagram and I'll put him on. I'll put him on Twitter and stuff so you guys can. Can see him if you're not on the. On the gram.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

Before we get to the whole now you're a mom stuff, how are you feeling physically since you were split open?

[Katie Green]

I feel shockingly. I've been. I mean, I'm up walking, really talking to you right now. Oh, okay. I've been trying to spend limited time in bed. They. They've been actually kind of like, hey, you need to lay down and chill out a little bit more than you are. But my pain level. You know how they give you that stupid. Oh. On a scale of one to ten, Right. I've been between a two and a three, and I think I hit a five, like, once. Yeah.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

Okay.

[Katie Green]

Yeah.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

And you're. I assume your. Your organs are back inside you. I assume.

[Katie Green]

I sure hope so.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

In the right order.

[Katie Green]

Yeah. Place. Yeah. I thought it was weird that I burped and a part of my intestine came out of my mouth, but, you know, whatever.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

That is pretty funny that you're. Because I know you and your. Your husband like to have a drink now and then. It's funny he got to see your liver and check it out. Okay. I guess we got a few good years left.

[Katie Green]

We do. We've got a solid few more trips to the bar,

[Co-host / Interviewer]

so it's. Having lived through it a couple of times, it's beyond words, but best you can do with words, becoming a parent. Parenthood.

[Katie Green]

So far, it is a love that I didn't know was even possible. He. You know, it's. It's. I want to do anything and everything I can for the rest of my life to protect this little guy. He's just. He's completely melted both of us.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

Yeah. It is stunning. I remember having this conversation with my wife at the time. It was, like, shocking and not shocking to us at some point when I had this conversation about, like, if the house caught on fire, I'm getting the kids out, and if you get out, fine. And I will help once the kids are out. But the kids are getting out, the kid is getting out, and you're the second priority. And we're both like, yeah, I agree completely. Get. Get the kid out. Don't worry about me. And, you know, and that doesn't happen until. And it becomes so natural. It's not like an intellectual decision. You couldn't do it any other way. Something kicks in. In the. In the brain when you have a kid.

[Katie Green]

Yeah. And, you know, when they took him after the C section, I didn't. I didn't get to hold him. I didn't get to touch him. I didn't get to do anything. I was laying on the operating table, and they took him. And so I had to go into recovery for two hours. And so now it's 10pm And I still have not seen my son. And so they agreed that they would wheel me back to the NICU to go see him. And they were all kind of joking with me because I had just had a C section, and I pretty much got up off the table so I could just hold his hand and see him. And Drew. Yeah, Drew had to actually grab the back of my. My darling robe that they put me in and get me to lay back down because I tried to stand up because I just wanted to be with him. But, yeah, I mean, it's. It's a love that I didn't. I didn't know was even humanly possible.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

So is. Is. Is Drew your husband? Is he the sort of person that's not squeamish about medical stuff, or is it just because in the moment he was okay? I honestly don't know if I could watch what you just described.

[Katie Green]

You know, he. He used to be squeamish, but considering his profession, he deals with a lot of. A lot of violence and a lot of blood. So I'm pretty sure it was. It makes it, you know, it's. It's gotten a little more natural for him.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Katie Green]

How big was the baby?

[Co-host / Interviewer]

Yeah. Yeah, Michael's really big. He's like a grandma. He wants to know how big the baby was.

[Katie Green]

The baby was 15 or 15. Good grief. £15. 15 point. No. Good. Yeah. I wouldn't be. Talk to you right now if that was the case. Five pounds, 15.6 ounces and 18 and a half inches long.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

There you go. Michael probably had one of those prop bets on one of those offshore sites.

[Katie Green]

Or lost 20 bucks. Expected a bigger baby, Michael.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

Yeah. So you were.

[Katie Green]

We were all.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

We all been texting a lot. So this conversation was through text. I'm sure your medical team is great, and they're just doing what all medical teams do. But you're having the experience everybody who's ever been in the hospital has of the fact that somebody comes in every five minutes and interrupts you while you're trying to sleep and then says, you get some rest. It's important you get some rest. Then they're gone for like five minutes and somebody else comes in.

[Katie Green]

Yeah, that. That's happened more times than I can count. My favorite one was yesterday, though, where she came in taking care of stuff. She said, okay, you get some rest. I'll be back at 6:40. And I looked up at the clock, I was like 6:40s in 12 minutes.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Katie Green]

What do you mean, get rest?

[Co-host / Interviewer]

I'll get some deep rest over the next 10 minutes. I wonder, wonder why that is a truism for everybody that's ever in a hospital wanting to rest. Is it because they can't coordinate? Because you just. They can't coordinate them and I don't know, but that's always been my experience.

[Katie Green]

Yeah. I don't know. I mean, there's. We've had so many teams as. This has been so funny. Right. As I was doing that part of this conversation with you, there was a nurse in here that wanted to talk to me and come back.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

Sure.

[Katie Green]

But, yeah, I mean, it's just been one after the other. Drew had to leave yesterday for like 30 minutes. And I think five different departments came in between occupational therapy and, you know, postpartum depression and all, you know, but they are. I mean, they are on rotation, coming in here one after the other after the other. And, you know, and also newborns, you. You know, they have to eat regularly. So we had somebody coming in twice in the middle of the night to make sure that I wake him up and feed him. And. Yeah, so I look, I look like I haven't slept in about two months, but I'm sure I'm ready for it. I know it's not going to get any better.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

What? You never know. Our first kid slept constantly. I remember calling the doctor and saying, calling the advice nurse and like, he just keeps sleeping. Is everything okay? Be thankful. Enjoy it, is what they said.

[Podcast Host / Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

You don't worry about it, because sometimes they sleep, sometimes they don't. You never know.

[Katie Green]

Yeah, he's been a really good sleeper so far.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

That's awesome. How'd you come up with the name Donovan? Is it a family name or what's that all about? Because I know people are going to ask.

[Katie Green]

Well, yeah, so first of all, we're both very Irish, so it's a strong Irish name. My Grant, my grandfather's name was Don Donald, and so we went with Donovan. And then J is my dad's middle name. Cool. So it's Donovan J.

[Podcast Host / Advertiser]

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[Co-host / Interviewer]

Speaking of your dad, the judge who's been on the show many times, I'm guessing your parents are pretty excited about being grandparents.

[Katie Green]

Oh, they're so excited. It's. And it's been. That's, that's also been an aspect that I wasn't expecting to like, make me emotional, but like seeing them sitting here and my dad, he holds, he holds Donovan the way he held me and my mom keeps going. He's gonna, he's gonna get a crick in his neck. Yeah, great. It's pretty funny. And then, you know, my mom's like, give him back. And no. All right, guys, I gotta tell you,

[Co-host / Interviewer]

Hanson and I, Joe's not here today. He's playing golf. But Hanson, I were amazed that you were gonna call in because, you know, we've all been through the experience and not as the moment of the whirlwind is that when you have a baby, I mean, it's, it's quite a couple of days, but appreciate you taking the time to call because so many. Everybody was texting and asking and emailing and stuff like that. So thanks for filling all, all the information when you get to go home.

[Katie Green]

Yeah, no, I. Today, Today I'm going home.

[Advertiser]

Oh, awesome.

[Katie Green]

So they're gonna. Yeah, they're gonna come in. They've got a couple more checks to do on him. They're done checking me out. I'm. I'm fine. And then they're going to, you know, the car seat thing is very important. Oh, yeah. Do all that. Oh. And so we, we Took one of the blankets that we swaddled Donovan in, and we gave it to the girl who is watching our dog, Frankie.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

There you go. Yep.

[Katie Green]

She's been. She's been sending me videos. Frankie will not leave that blanket. He's been carrying it around the house. He's sleeping on it. I mean, it's. That's also incredible, because I know he knows something's going on.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

Yep.

[Katie Green]

But. But yeah. So we're going to go home, and I. I've been getting so many sweet messages from our listeners and, you know, the Facebook pages and the Instagram and all that stuff. So I'm glad to let everybody know, hey, I'm here. I'm alive. Donovan's alive. Drew is alive. I didn't kill him either.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

So we're all good for some reason. So it blew my mind. It still does. Just the idea that you drive to the hospital, the two of you, and you leave. There's three of you. I mean, it's just.

[Katie Green]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

And then you get home, and it's like, yeah. Because when you're at the hospital, you got all that help constantly and everything like that. You're home. You're like, okay, now it's just us and kind of winging it here.

[Katie Green]

That's in my dad. My dad was saying, so on Monday, before I went in to be induced, I went to the gym with my dad, and he goes, hey, so just to let you know, I know that you've had a couple of moments of like, are you going to be a good mom? Which I have. I've. I've had a couple, like, oh, my God, what am I doing? You know? He goes, just wait until you get home. That's when the real what the f. Yeah. Moment Is gonna hit true.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

It's something, because you're so protected in the hospital with all that medical care around. And then you get home, it's like, okay, all right, here we go.

[Katie Green]

Yeah. Oh, I have this giant red button where if anything happened where I'm even remotely unsure, I hit that, and somebody comes running. Now I am the big red button. You know?

[Co-host / Interviewer]

Well, congratulations. Everybody is very, very happy for you. And go spend time with your baby.

[Katie Green]

All right, I will. Thank you guys. And drive home with your hazard lights on.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

Drive home with your hazard lights on. Good plan, Michael. Okay. Thanks, Katie.

[Katie Green]

Absolutely.

[Co-host / Interviewer]

Well, more on the way. Stay here.

[Katie Green]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Podcast Host / Advertiser]

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[Advertiser]

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