ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It was a Labor Day weekend for the record books at a Florida hospital, where a woman gave birth to the state’s first set of sextuplets.
The five boys and one girl, weighing between 2 and 3 pounds each, were born Saturday night to Karoline Byler, 29, of Wesley Chapel.
Five of the babies, who were born more than two months early, were listed in stable condition Sunday at neighboring All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Dr. Roberto Sosa said at a news conference. He said a medical team was still trying to stabilize one of the boys.
“The babies are still developing,” Sosa said. “We are just trying to do what Mother Nature would do. … We are cautiously optimistic that everything will turn out all right.”
The proud father, Ben Byler, described the birth as “amazing.”
“Thanks to the Lord above,” he said. “If everyone could just keep us in their prayers.”
The boys were named Brady Christopher, Eli Benjamin, Ryan Patrick, Jackson Robert and Charlie Craig. The girl is MacKenzie Margaret.
The babies will likely remain in the hospital through Karoline Byler’s November due date. Doctors said their birth weights were normal for that stage of development.
“Things could not have gone better than they did,” said Dr. Karen Raimer, who led a medical team through Saturday’s Caesarean section delivery of the sextuplets.
The Bylers said they used fertility drugs after their daughter, Zoe, 4, asked for a sibling.
Florida’s Department of Vital Statistics said the births of the sextuplets were the first on record in the state.
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