Looks like this family is going to need a much bigger car. The Associated Press reports Evonne Derrico, 33, already a mom of three (including one set of twins), had quintuplets in an Arizona hospital on Friday.
Dad Deon Derrico said, “I feel very honored that God chose us,” though the couple is a little frazzled by the adjustments they’re going to have to make. When Evonne got pregnant, she originally thought she was just going to have quadruplets (still a lot of babies), but she and her doctors later realized she was actually going to have a fifth child. When Evonne reached the twenty-second week of her pregnancy, she and the family temporarily relocated in order to be nearer to multiple birth specialist Dr. John Elliot.
On average, quintuplets are born at 28 weeks, but Evonne was able to deliver her babies at 32 weeks. Once mom was ready, the little ones came in succession; they were all born between 11:17 and 11:21 on Friday morning. All five children weigh under 3 pounds and will be in the NICU for the next several weeks. The Derricos stuck to their family tradition and gave all the newborns names that started with “D”: Deniko, Dariz, Deonee, Daician and Daiten.
We hope the quints come home from the hospital with no problems. Congratulations to the big, happy family.