STERLING, Ill. (AP) - All the feels. That’s how it’s been for Brenda Elder and her two daughters, who had three kids between the two of them in a 21-hour span at CGH Medical Center.
Audri Keefer and her boyfriend, Lucas Griffith, both 22 and of Sterling, welcomed their second child, Averiana, to the world at 11:13 a.m. Tuesday.
Adaira Keefer and her boyfriend, Kyle Walker, of Rock Falls, welcomed their second and third, Zaylen Robinson and Layla Ann, to the world at 8:02 and 8:09 Wednesday morning, respectively.
By noon, the twins were taken to Rockford Memorial Hospital. They arrived about 8 weeks early, and checked in at 3 pounds, 13 ounces, and 4 pounds, 7 ounces.
Understandably, Adaira, 23, was beside herself. Good thing Momma Bear was there for her.
“This is horrible,” said Brenda, 43. “It wasn’t an easy thing, but you’ve got to be as strong as you can, and let her know I’ve been through it myself.”
Audri was born with a respiratory illness that caused her to stop breathing, and she had spent about her first year in and out of the hospital. Just like the twins, she was taken almost immediately to Rockford Memorial.
“I had a heart monitor,” Audri said. “I died in my mom’s arms. I died in my grandma’s arms. I was a trouble baby. That’s why I was so scared to have (Averiana). I was afraid it was going to hit her.”
It didn’t, but the little one, who checked in at 5 pounds, 9 ounces and 19 inches long, didn’t arrive without issue.
On Monday, Audri got worried that she hadn’t felt Averiana move in a long while, so she went to the hospital, where she was assured all was well.
Fast-forward about a day, and she was informed in the recovery room that the umbilical cord had wrapped around Averiana’s neck.
“Last night, when they tried to pull her out, she kept getting stuck,” she said. “That’s why - it was around her neck. I was so relieved that she was perfectly healthy when she came out. That’s all I was worried about the whole time I was pregnant - that she wasn’t going to be healthy, or something was going to go wrong.”
Averiana’s as healthy as can be.
“She looks just like her older brother,” Audri and Lucas said, practically in unison.
Whereas neither Audri nor Adaira had yet met their new nieces and nephew by midday Wednesday, Layton, 2, had gotten to meet his baby sister.
“He was fascinated with her,” Audri said.
“He was so excited to touch her face,” Lucas added.
Excitement has been in ample supply, for better or for worse. Brenda had just settled down and turned on the TV on Tuesday evening when Audri called.
“I said, ’Quit playing with me,’” Brenda said. “She said, ’I’m not. She’s really up here, Mom.’ So I stopped what I was doing and got back up here.”
OB doctor Frank Tugwell, who’s been catching babies about 26 years, delivered Averiana. He’d also seen Adaira for her twins leading up to Tuesday, when his fellow OB doctor, Jeff LeMay, was on call.
LeMay has delivered about 6,800 babies over his nearly 31 years at CGH. He doesn’t recall sisters giving birth to a singleton and twins within a day of each other.
“It struck me as unusual,” he said.
It wasn’t until he saw Brenda flitting between her daughters’ rooms that it dawned on him that they had sisters in recovery at the same time.
“I told her she was going to wear her shoes out,” he said. “But (Adaira) did a nice job. It was fun. And the kids looked pretty good. They’re little, but they’ll be all right.”
As Adaira made a slow walk down the hall and around the corner to her sister’s room just before 1 p.m. Wednesday, to meet her new niece, the healing process had begun. Today, she and her mom will drive up to Rockford to see the twins.
So much emotion. So much hurt.
“Yet so much joy at the same time,” Brenda said.
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THE BABIES
Child, time of birth, weight, length, parents and city of residence
Averiana Griffith, 11:13 a.m., 5 lbs. 9 oz., 19 inches, Audri Keefer and Lucas Griffith of Sterling
Zaylen Robinson Walker, 8:02 a.m., 3 lbs. 13 oz., length not available, Adaira Keefer and Kyle Walker of Rock Falls
Layla Ann Walker, 8:09 a.m., 4 lbs. 7 oz.,18.5 inches, Adaira and Kyle Walker of Rock Falls
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Source: The (Sterling) Daily Gazette, https://bit.ly/2nbwCIv
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Information from: The Daily Gazette, https://www.saukvalley.com
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