Monday morning started out like any other day at Monkey and Dog Books in downtown Fort Worth. Customers browsed through shelves and flipped pages.
And then, Morgan Trojacek’s water broke in the bathroom.
"We had never had that experience before of someone being in labor at the shop,” said Brooke Burt, the store’s owner.
The bookstore posted an Instagram reel asking the Fort Worth community to help find Trojacek. She told an employee what happened but quickly left for a nearby birthing center without leaving a name.
Trojacek had just checked in with her midwife, who told her labor could begin soon. She’s an English teacher, but school was out for the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday and grandparents were watching her other children, so she decided to stay downtown and drop into the bookstore. Trojacek had only spent a few minutes browsing before she felt her water broke.
“I booked it to the bathroom as fast as I could,” Trojacek said.
Burt, the bookstore owner, wanted to check on the family and celebrate the baby, but no one caught their names. Burt’s husband, Seth, then had the idea to make the Instagram video.
The post spread quickly after someone shared it on a Fort Worth neighborhood Facebook page.
"It seems like it was kind of the whole community working together to really find her and connect us with her,” Brooke said.
Trojacek, who does not use social media, found out through a friend in her book club.
"I let my well-read mom book club know, because I thought they would find it hysterical,” Trojacek said. “The next day, one of them reached out to me in our group chat and said,‘ oh, hey, Monkey Dog's looking for you.’”
Trojacek emailed the store, and the family connected within a day. The baby, named Leo, was born at 11:18 am. Monday. To mark the moment, Burt and her staff put together a gift basket for the family and offered a lifetime discount at the store.
Trojacek said her family plans to return in the coming weeks.
“I was really glad everything happened the way it did,” Trojacek said.
