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Septuplets' parents get to hold first baby
Kenneth first to come off ventilator
November 21, 1997
Web posted at: 5:16 p.m. EST (2216 GMT)DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) -- The parents of the McCaughey septuplets got to hold one of their babies for the first time Friday.
The milestone came after Kenneth, the first baby born Wednesday, was taken off a ventilator Friday morning, enabling his parents to cradle him.
"It was just incredible," Bobbi McCaughey said later at a press conference. "I can't wait until I can hold all of them."
"If we have the arms," quipped father Kenny McCaughey.
The parents still can't hold the other six babies -- Nathaniel, Brandon, Joel, Kelsey, Natalie and Alexis -- who remain on respirators. But Kenny McCaughey says they are visiting the children three times a day to see and to touch them.
Mother describes holding baby
Bobbi and Kenny McCaughey talk about being new parents.
Bobbi and Kenny McCaughey describe holding their son 
Bobbi
1.7M/20 sec. AIFF or WAV soundKenny
107K/7 sec. AIFF or WAV soundExcerpts from KCCI's exclusive interview with Bobbi McCaughey. 1.2M/33 sec./160x120
QuickTime movie1.1M/30 sec./160x120
QuickTime movieMrs. McCaughey, still using an IV and wearing a blue housecoat, was given a round of applause as she faced the media for the first time Friday afternoon. She seemed nervous and somewhat overcome with emotion as her husband suggested she make a statement, saying softly, "I can't."
Later regaining her composure, she thanked the press for their consideration and talked briefly about holding Kenneth.
"It was so unexpected at first, because I never thought they would come off ventilators so soon," she said, describing how she cradled him "just like you hold any baby."
Kenneth -- whom doctors nicknamed "Hercules" because he was at the bottom of his mother's womb and held up the other babies -- is the strongest of the seven babies and weighed 3 pounds, 4 ounces at birth.
Graphic: The fetuses' positions in the uterus
Doctors had said Thursday that they expected the babies, all of whom were suffering from breathing difficulties because they were premature, to spend four or five days on a ventilator. Kenneth got off the ventilator in less than two days.
The remaining six infants, in serious but stable condition, have each improved significantly and the hospital may begin weaning them off ventilator and oxygen support within the next two to three days, said Dr. Robert Shaw, a neonatologist at Blank Children's Hospital in Des Moines, where the children are expected to remain until January.
Details of Clinton's call to McCaugheys
In addition to a slew of product donations and nationwide media attention, the McCaugheys also received a congratulatory phone call from President Bill Clinton Thursday night.
With the family's permission, the hospital played a tape of a telephone call the couple received from the president.
When the president asked how he was doing, Kenny McCaughey said, "I'm a little nervous, I can't believe you called me."
They also joked about whether the reality of "seven pairs of shoes" and "44,000 diapers" had sunk in yet.
"The whole country's been following this," Clinton said, informing McCaughey he would be one of the "most-watched parents in the country."
Mrs. McCaughey invited Clinton to come see the babies "anytime you want," and told him she was "much better" than the day before.
Clinton told Mrs. McCaughey, who had taken a fertility drug, that he and everyone at the White House was amazed by her accomplishment.
"When those kids all go off to college," he said, "you'll be able to get a job running any major corporation in America. You'll be the best-organized manager in the United States."
She laughed at that, and replied: "Either that or I'll be in a straitjacket somewhere."
Mother home by Thanksgiving
McCaughey said his wife should be home by Thanksgiving, which they planned to spend with their parents in their hometown of Carlisle, just outside of Des Moines. However, no definite discharge date has been set.
McCaughey also talked a bit about the challenge the family faces in caring for seven newborns. He said he thinks some of their previous life experiences will help prepare them.
"Both Bobbi and I have been ones that have been real students of efficiency, of trying to do a lot of things in a very small amount of time," he said. "And along with that is pinching pennies. Both of us have not had a lot of money."
The McCaugheys are the second known set of septuplets born alive. The family also has a daughter, Mikayla, who will be 2 in January.
When she had the babies, 29-year-old Bobbi was in the 31st week of her pregnancy, far less than a typical pregnancy's duration of 40 weeks -- but three weeks beyond the minimum doctors consider necessary for a fetus to survive outside the womb.
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Related stories:
- Septuplets 'warm, pink and comfortable' - November 20, 1997
- Septuplets heartache: the Frustaci story - November 20, 1997
- Doctor optimistic about Iowa septuplets' progress - November 20, 1997
- Septuplets survive 'miracle' birth - November 19, 1997
Related sites:
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- Iowa Health System
- Twins & Multiple Births Association
- The Parenting Community: Parents Place
- Family Resource Online
- American Society for Reproductive Medicine
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