Lewis County Welcomes the First Baby Born in 2020

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Grey Martin Schlecht, born on Jan. 1 2020 at 1:06 a.m., was the first baby born in the new year in Lewis County. 

Grey was born weighing 7.02 pounds and was 20 inches long. Diana and Ed Schlecht, going on 16 years of marriage, are no strangers to the process of bringing a child into the world as Grey is their fifth child. However, they may be a bit out of practice — it’s been 9 years since their last baby.

Grey joins his four other siblings Dezarai, 14, Zoey, 13, Gavin, 10 and Axel, 9 as they rang in the new year at the hospital. The family knew the sex of the baby ahead of time and each of the siblings were hoping for a boy except for Dezarai who was hoping for a girl. The family lives in Toledo and made the 25-minute drive to Providence Centralia Hospital to deliver the baby.

Dr. Elisha Mvundura, specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, delivered their baby.

“The doctor and medical staff all did an awesome job,” Ed Schlecht said.

Before the clock struck midnight on New Years Eve, the family could hear the hospital staff having a countdown outside of their room and Diana was able to celebrate the moment because the contractions weren’t strong until about 12:45 a.m. 

“This one was my baby and he’s nine,” said Diana gesturing to her youngest son Axel. “So this is my first baby in nine years,” she said. 

Although Diana’s due date was Jan. 15, she first arrived at the hospital at 11 a.m. on December 31, went into labor at about 1 p.m., and was in labor for about 12 hours before delivering Grey at 1:06 a.m.



The Chronicle asked the Schlechts how they felt about having the first baby born in Lewis County.

“It’s exciting, very exciting,” said Ed.

The couple agreed that they had always wanted a big family. Diana said that she has always liked the name Grey and his middle was chosen because it was her grandpa’s name. The family hadn’t decided on the name until about 2 p.m. on Jan 1. Ed joked that they were going to name the baby Lewis after Lewis County.

“We were being silly,” he said.

Diana said her only craving during this pregnancy was wanting to chew ice chips. 

Chris Thomas, the Public Relations Manager with Providence Centralia Hospital said that in 2019 there were 632 babies delivered at the hospital and baby Grey is the first of 2020.