Large Families

As a parent, I always wondered what it would be like to have twins. Two for one, who wouldn't want that, right? There are twins on my side of the family, and the possibility was there. I have heard that it skips a generation, but not in our family since the last three generations... My Dad's brother was a twin, my Mom was pregnant with twins (before I was born) but didn't carry them full term, and I have several first cousins who have twins...3 generations in a row!

Anyways, no, I'm not pregnant with twins! And no, we do not plan on having any more babies. However, I was reading an article on MSN about a lady in Bellflower, CA (Jason's hometown, just down the street from us) who delivered 8 babies!!!!

Here is an excerpt from that article:
BELLFLOWER, Calif. - Octuplets born to a mother in Southern California were in stable condition and breathing on their own, doctors said Tuesday. They were born Monday, six boys and two girls weighing between 1.8 pounds and 3.4 pounds. The eighth baby was a surprise to the parents and doctors who had been expecting only seven children. Just five minutes after the first birth, the unexpected eighth baby came out at 10:48 a.m. There were 46 doctors, nurses and assistants who delivered the children by Caesarean section.

These are the world’s second live-born set of octuplets. The world’s first live octuplets were born in March 1967 in Mexico City, but all died within 14 hours, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. The United States’ first live-born octuplets were born in Houston in 1998, three months premature. One baby died about a week later. The surviving siblings celebrated their 10th birthday this last December.

The octuplet babies were dubbed with the letters A-through-H, and will probably remain in the hospital for at least two months. The mother plans to nurse the babies herself! While the babies came into the world nine weeks early, Dr. Gupta said it was enough time in their mother’s womb to give them a solid shot at survival. “We don’t have any historical data for eight babies, but we do have it if they’re born at 30 weeks, and they usually do pretty good,” he said.

MSNBC. 2009. Health/Kids and Parents. Octuplets born in California doing 'very well.' Jan 27, '09. Retrieved on Jan 27, '09 form http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28864195/?gt1=43001