What South Carolina’s ‘Giraffe Mom’ thinks about April the giraffe’s being pregnant
Last Friday it was reported that April, America’s most famous giraffe, could be pregnant again.
What does this mean for South Carolina’s infamous “Giraffe Mom,” aka Erin Dietrich?
She told The State she has no plans to keep up with the giraffe that 1.2 million viewers watched give birth to baby son on April 15.
“I think it’s crazy that she’s pregnant again so soon,” Dietrich told The State Monday. “People are asking if I’m going to have baby No. 5? Everybody is calling or messaging me, asking ‘Is the race on?’ ”
Dietrich had a direct answer for the questions.
“We’re good,” Dietrich said.
“Things are crazy with four kids. We have our own zoo over here.”
Dietrich originally got swept up in the frenzy surrounding April, whose pregnancy went on for 16 months.
In March, a very pregnant Dietrich streamed a video live on Facebook from her bedroom wearing a giraffe mask and walking around, parodying the intense scrutiny April was receiving. Dietrich’s video of her dancing and sitting in a rocking chair has more than 32 million views.
“I did it and it just exploded,” the Myrtle Beach woman said shortly after making the viral video. “I had become obsessed with watching (April the giraffe) when I can’t sleep. My husband said we should order a giraffe mask off Amazon.”
On March 8, Dietrich gave birth to her fourth child, a healthy baby boy named Porter Lane Dietrich.
“People always recognize us wherever we go. I never expected this,” Dietrich said of her celebrity status gained from dancing with her pregnant belly exposed while wearing “a $16 Amazon giraffe mask.”
“We just made (the video) for our friends and family.”
Many more people saw the video and enjoyed it. So many in fact, that an online petition was started to get the N.Y. zoo that’s home to April to name her son after Porter.
It didn’t work out, and the baby giraffe was named Tajiri. Now 6 months old, Tajiri could soon welcome a younger sibling.
“I cannot confirm nor deny the possibility of another pregnancy,” Animal Adventure Park owner Jordan Patch said on “Good Morning America” Thursday.
Like Dietrich, April has given birth to four children, or in her case calves. that includes Tajiri, now 10-feet tall.
Porter remains much smaller.
After he was born, Dietrich again donning the giraffe mask, saying in another Facebook post “He’s here!! He’s perfect, healthy and just beautiful! Our sweet Porter Lane arrived at 6:11 p.m. tonight. 8 lb. 2 oz. and 21 1/2 inches.”
Shortly after Porter was born, Dietrich made a trip to New York to visit April. Of course she brought Porter along, and he was a hit with the real giraffe.
“April loved Porter,” Dietrich wrote in a Facebook post that showed April looking like she was trying to lick Porter, who was wearing a giraffe onesie.
“It was so cool to be able to go to the zoo and to meet April and her baby,” Dietrich said. “All the staff there was so sweet and welcoming.”
Dietrich plans to make another trip to the zoo in the near future. She wasn’t able to bring her older kids the first time.
She said Porter’s 8-, 5- and nearly 3-year-old siblings are enjoying the fame his birth brought the family.
“They love it,” Dietrich said.
That was clear at a recent holiday.
The owner/photographer for Erin Dietrich Photography had some fun venturing in front of the camera again on at Halloween. She already had the perfect costume, wearing her “Giraffe Mom” mask.
This time, she was joined by her own calf, as Porter was dressed in a giraffe costume.
Her family had an animal costume theme. One child was dressed as a monkey, another a lion, and the eldest a flamingo. Her husband was wearing a safari hat and a T-shirt that said “Zoo Keeper.”
With another holiday, Christmas, fast approaching, Dietrich has a suspicion Porter’s gifts will have a theme.
“Porter will get giraffe stuff for Christmas,” she said. “Everything people give him is giraffe stuff. … He’ll always be known as the ‘Giraffe Baby.’ ”
As for her celebrity and being labeled for the rest of her life, Dietrich seems content with the situation.
“I’ll be known forever as the ‘Giraffe Mom’ ” Dietrich said, reiterating she expects Porter to be her last baby. If that’s the case, it’s a special way to complete the family. “It will be a cool story to tell Porter when he gets older.”
This story was originally published November 14, 2017 at 7:00 AM.