History was made at A.O. Fox Memorial Hospital on Friday with the birth of quadruplets to a Walton couple, a hospital official said.
The four girls, who were born premature at 27 weeks, had been taken to two larger hospitals where they can get the care they need, a hospital official said.
It wasn't anything that Jessica Barnes 26, and Matthew Barnes, 27, had planned for, the couple said.
Jessica said she is looking forward to seeing them as soon as she is released. She was hopeful that could be Sunday or Monday.
But she said her daughters were doing fantastic.
The two oldest, Samantha Leona and Olivia Marie, were delivered by Caesarean section at 2:16 a.m. and 2:17 a.m., Fox officials said. They were taken to Crouse Hospital in Syracuse, where Jessica had planned to deliver them, she said. They were both off of breathing assistance, hospital officials there told her.
Maddison Kylie and Mackenzie Rose were born 2:18 and 2:19 a.m., respectively, and were taken to Albany Medical Center because there wasn't enough room in Syracuse. Maddison is still getting oxygen, her mother said. Many of the girl's names were for family members, Jessica said.
The four girls weighed 2 pounds, 9 ounces; 2 pounds, 8 ounces; 2 pounds, 5 ounces; and 2 pounds 3 ounces, in birth order, said Fox spokeswoman Maggie Barnes, who is not related to the couple.
"Under normal circumstances, we don't do these kinds of births," said Barnes.
They might need special equipment that a community hospital might not have, she said.
The hospital has delivered twins several times over the years, she said. But "if all goes according to plan," these types of deliveries are planned for in larger hospitals.
But that wasn't the case for the Walton couple, who have been married two years but together for about nine years, they said in Jessica's hospital room Friday.
"They were elementary school sweethearts," said their mothers, who were both visiting at Fox.
Barnes said she was admitted to Crouse on Monday with contractions, but sent home Thursday with orders for bed rest. She came home about 5 p.m. and went to bed at 10 p.m. and started getting sharp pains.
When contractions started coming three minutes apart, she said, "I knew I had to get somewhere, and Oneonta was my first choice. Fox did an excellent job."
Her husband said, "It was all going so fast, I never had the time to panic."
Matt said he will wait to make sure his wife and children are OK before returning to work.
Jessica said she has been trying to get pregnant for about seven years and had been turned to fertility doctors. She is a life coach at The Arc of Delaware County. Her employer has been very supportive of her efforts, she said, though it was too early to say when she would be returning to work.
She started with Dr. Moheb Khouzam in December, who succeeded where others didn't, she said.
At first he thought she was having twins following an ultrasound, she said. But a subsequent image seven months ago showed that they were quadruplets.
"My jaw dropped," she said.
She called her husband, who works for Jim's Tree Service in Walton, and "he almost had a heart attack."
Jessica then went online and looked up information about what would be needed. In the seven months the couple had to prepare, she stocked up on everything from diapers to wipes.
Family and friends in the area have helped with the financial realities, both said.
"So far so good," she said about the financial impact, and the quality of her medical coverage has been a source of comfort.
The couple said they were dealing with things one day at a time. Matt said he has not stopped to think yet about what having four daughters means.
"The most important thing is that they are healthy," he said.
But he was hopeful that one might have been a boy.
In multiple births, sometimes there is some uncertainty, he said. He was not in the operating room when his daughters were delivered.
"It was too crowded," Jessica said.
Lynne Shanks, Fox's director of nursing for obstetrics, said the hospital was notified at 1 a.m. that Barnes was on her way. Enough staff had to be called in to assist those regularly scheduled, she said. This included extra nurses, pediatricians and obstetricians.
"One of the major things I learned is how well A.O. Fox Hospital can work together as a team," she said. "Every department was involved in the delivery of the babies. That was needed to have a positive outcome."
