Haylee and Shawn Ladner’s five precious babies have just celebrated their first birthdays, and the couple is preparing for baby number six, which is expected in July!
On February 16, 2023, Haylee and Shawn welcomed quintuplets. Adalyn Elizabeth, Everleigh Rose, Malley Kate, and Magnolia Mae are identical little princesses, and Jake Easton is the girls’ sweet brother. Dr. Rachael Morris, associate professor of maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC), shared at the time, “Reports of spontaneous quintuplets vary but are about 1 in 60 million.”
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Now that Haylee and Shawn Ladner have known one another since preschool and have mastered caring for five babies, another is on the way! Haylee told TODAY, “We weren't trying, and I was on birth control.” However, she suspects that she might have forgotten to take a birth control pill during the “chaos” of December when three of the quints were hospitalized for pneumonia.
Haylee took a pregnancy test soon after and was confident that the test would be negative. Haylee wasn't ready to accept that she might be pregnant. “For one thing, I was really, really tired, but I assumed it was just because I have five kids! Of course I’m tired,” Haylee said. "So I just kind of chalked it up to that."
When Haylee told Shawn about the positive pregnancy test, he was in denial as well. Haylee shared with TODAY how Shawn responded to the pregnancy test news. “I was like, ‘Where are you going?’” Haylee recalled Shawn immediately putting on his jacket to leave. “And he says, ‘I’m going to get more tests!’”
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Haylee told TODAY, laughing: “Well, of course those were positive, too.”
Haylee and Shawn Ladner have now embraced the news of another baby and are excited to welcome their sixth child—another baby girl—to the family.
Fortunately, following the sickness of December, all of the Ladner children are doing well. Jake will take his first steps any day, and the ladies are crawling everywhere. With about a 17-month difference in age between the quintuplets and the next baby, Haylee and Shawn are bracing to be even busier than they are now.
Haylee expressed the couple’s can-do spirit, saying, “It was scary at first, because they’re going to be so close together in age, but if I can handle five, I can handle six!” Haylee said.
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“Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.” Psalms 127:3
h/t: People
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Good Morning America
Hally is a freelance writer, blogger, and mental health advocate. A former school counselor, Hally works for a nonprofit that distributes tax dollars to mental health and prevention education providers that serve her county's kids and families. She's a contributor to a devotional and two essay collectives, and she shares resources and wisdom regarding parenting teens, mental health, faith, adoption, and more at http://www.hallyjwells.com where she strives to "Dig Deep and Reach High." She and her husband have three adult children and one rascally beagle pup. Hally loves travel, her book club sisters, personality tests, and a great glass of iced tea.