Friday, February 04, 2000
Sidney prepares welcome for quints
BY JANET C. WETZEL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
SIDNEY, Ohio — While five tiny celebrities nap blissfully 36 miles away, residents here are rallying to welcome home the town's first quintuplets.
The DiLullo quints are the toast of this town, which saw its population jump from 19,441 to 19,446 within five minutes on Jan. 18. The three boys and two girls, in stable condition at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, may be released by mid-March.
They reportedly are the first quintuplets born in the United States in the new millennium. Only about 15 sets are born nationwide each year.
“You go to the grocery store, to Wal-Mart, the gas station, the YMCA, the basketball game, the bank, or wherever, and people are asking about them,” said the Rev. John Schriber, pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church, which is coordinating volunteers and donations for the family.
“It will spread even more when the babies come home,” the Rev. Mr. Schriber said.
Thursday, Michelle DiLullo, 33, spoke at her first press conference at the hospital about the fun and fears of being the mother of multiples.
The baby girls are sharing an incubator, and “they're already trying to pick on each other, they're pushing each other around,” she said, with her husband, Michael DiLullo, 33, at her side. “And I have this vision that the laundry will be done continuously.”
Upstairs the quints, with
dark wavy hair like their father, lay in incubators in intensive care. The babies are all stable, eating and beginning to develop personalities, their parents said.
“We're noticing a lot of little subtle differences,” Mr. DiLullo said. “One of the girls smiles all the time and will probably be carefree. One of the boys is probably going to be the ornery one, and another boy is real calm.”
The DiLullos were trying for a sibling for Anthony, 2, when they tried fertility drugs. They decided against terminating some of the fetuses, an option they had to give the others a better chance.
Daniel Fred, John David, Angelina Marie, Lauren Renee and James Andrew were born 10 weeks early by Caesarean section. Their birth weights ranged from 2 pounds 81/4 ounces to 3 pounds 31/2 ounces. Now, they range from 2 pounds 11 ounces to 3 pounds 61/4 ounces.
“At this point, I don't think long-term handicaps will be high on the list,” said Dr. Marc Belcastro, the babies' doctor. Some of the babies have suffered from slow breathing and slight infections, but their ailments have primarily been those of any preemies.
Mrs. DiLullo, trim and smiling Thursday, said she's already dropped most of the 50 pounds she gained during the pregnancy that kept her off her feet for months. Now she's trying to get her strength back and get into a routine to be ready when the quints come home.
To prepare, the couple is selling their small ranch home and will move in with Mrs. DiLullo's parents, Ginny and Marion Leapley. They are building a 2,000 square-foot addition to their home here.
“We're a little uneasy we can't bring them home with us, but we know they need to stay here,” Mr. DiLullo said. “We still have this little vacation time, but we know it's not going to last.”
They know they'll face 30-40 bottles a day, dozens of diaper changes and everything in fives.
When the babies do go home, help will be waiting.
Offers to help feed, rock and diaper them are pouring in, says Judy Paul, who's coordinating volunteers.
St. John's Lutheran church, with 1,400 members, also is organizing donations for the family. Already, local businesses and residents have given the DiLullos five car seats, five swings, five Supersaucer exercisers, toys, coupons for free baby food and clothes, baby albums — and a six-month supply of disposable diapers.
Businesses also have pledged to donate as needed, and there's about $2,000 in the DiLullo Five Fund established at the church.
Interest in the quints has spread far beyond the walls of St. John's. One woman made five afghans. Another woman videotaped young Anthony taking swim lessons and picking out a Halloween pumpkin — childhood experiences she didn't want mother and dad to miss in the excitement of a multiple pregnancy.
The Leapleys, the proud grandparents, say everything seems to be working out according to God's plan.
“I've been on cloud nine from the day they said there would be two, three, four, then five babies,” Mrs. Leapley said.
Mr. Leapley, a retired teacher, echoed the sentiment.
“I can't wait to hold all five of them at one time,” he said.
EXPERT ADVICE
As Michelle and Michael DiLullo await the day they'll take their quintuplets home to Sidney, members and former members of Tri-State Multiples have advice to offer.
These tips come from Amy Mullins of Independence, Ky., whose quadruplets — three girls and one boy, turned 3 Thursday; Vickie Himmelspach of Green Township whose quadruplet boys will be 10 on Feb. 13; and Dana Schon of Pleasant Run whose 3-year-old quads — three girls and one boy — have a 7-month-old brother.
• Take advantage of every open arm to help feed and diaper them.
• Look for every helpful resource available.
• Get them on a schedule right away.
• Get a camcorder. Take lots of snapshots.
• When things get crazy, remember it's not that bad. They will become your greatest blessings.
• Propping up bottles may be convenient, but they need that personal touch.
• Don't grab them every time they whine.
• Don't ever start putting them in bed with you.
For information about Tri-State Multiples, call 825-6618.
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