Twins + twins + sextuplets = 10 kids
The couple got their wish — and more — this week when Elizabeth delivered New Jersey's only sextuplets. The Hayes brood grew to 10 children in less than three minutes at Monmouth Medical Center on Tuesday, hospital officials announced yesterday.
A team of 44 delivered the babies by Caesarean section at 1:07 a.m., a birth that deserved to be called "a miracle." Four of the babies weighed more than 4 pounds, well above average for a multiple birth, and the pregnancy lasted 32 weeks, much longer than is typical in such cases.
"It's a far cry from the 24 or 28 weeks we see, that's why we're so ecstatic," said Dr. David Wallace, who headed the delivery team. "At 32 weeks, they're almost home free," he said. A typical pregnancy lasts 40 weeks.
Eric Hayes, 38, a Marlboro, N.J., police officer who lives in a "very small" home that his grandfather built, said the three girls and three boys arrived with breathtaking speed.
He said he timed it at 2 minutes, 47 seconds.
"It was like, boom, boom, boom, and they were out," Hayes said. "I was trying to get pictures of them, and I was trying to get the flash to work. By the time I got the camera working, they were out. I got the back of one of their heads."
The babies were born in the following order: Tara Rose, 4 pounds, 7 ounces; Rachel Ann, 3 pounds, 9 ounces; Rebecca Mary, 4 pounds, 10 ounces; Ryan Peter, 4 pounds, 10 ounces; Connor James, 3 pounds, 9 ounces; and Eric John, 4 pounds, 8 ounces.
Wallace said the children, who needed minimal breathing assistance, will be discharged in four to six weeks. Elizabeth Hayes, 37, is expected to go home in a week.
The couple conceived with the help of fertility drugs and learned after each checkup that they were expecting a greater number of children, Eric Hayes said.
"We heard there were possibly three, then the next week five, then six," he said. "My wife said, 'I'm not going back next week.' "
The "Hayes 6" as they will be known on their official Web site (www.thehayes6.com), are indeed rare. According to one Web site on multiple births, there are 143 sets of sextuplets in the world.
The couple have consultants lined up to help them deal with a flood of media requests, community donations and the simply curious, Eric Hayes said.
Six car seats already were waiting for the children, he said. The family has received donations of clothing and supplies, as well as financial help.
Eric Hayes intends to stay home with his family for the rest of the year, a paid leave thanks to the generosity of each of his department's 76 officers who donated unused sick days.