A shower of love, hope

With six babies on the way, they get a little help from 2,000 friends.

By BEN MONTGOMERY, Times Staff Writer
Published August 26, 2007

As he is trailed by a camera crew for Inside Edition, Ben Byler greets visitors to a baby shower for his wife Karoline who is pregnant with sextuplets. In the background, a video of Caroline plays on a display screen.
	[Times photo: Daniel Wallace]

LUTZ - It started with a kiss 30 weeks ago.

Now, here in a suburban megachurch, at something called "Tampa Bay's Biggest Baby Shower," stands Ben Byler, 30, father of one, about to become father of seven, a man suddenly in the center of a storm.

His wife is bedridden and expecting to deliver six children -- five boys and a girl -- in the coming weeks, so Ben Byler, who typically runs a bread route for Pepperidge Farm, is manning the megashower for his future offspring.

That means thanking dozens of corporate sponsors such as Publix and One Fine Day Inc. one by one. It means hugging necks and shaking hands and holding a half-eaten cupcake in one hand while he does an interview with a newspaper reporter. It means ...

"Ben, can I borrow you for a minute," interrupts a producer from Inside Edition, who is wearing sunglasses and is trailed by film crew. "Just for a minute. We've got Elmo over here."

Elmo's around the corner with Hello Kitty, and the producer wants Ben to show his daughter, Zoe, who is 3 and has, by noon Saturday, already eaten two suckers and some cotton candy. Maybe he could hug Zoe. Maybe he could get on his knees.

The cameraman squeezes closer.

The Bylers, Ben and Karoline of Wesley Chapel, wanted two children. When little Zoe asked for a sister last August they figured, why not?

And they tried, then sought some help from a fertilization specialist.

It, um, worked.

Karoline's first stretch mark showed up four months later.

Some people find fame on the field or in the movies. Some find it because six little hearts start beating in a womb.

The babies, reportedly strong and healthy, will be Florida's first sextuplets, and the nation's 14th set ever.

Karoline is resting and waiting in Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg. The babies are due in September. Her husband said all are doing fine.

Now the rush is on, and Ben, humble and a little shy, is doing his best to be a good man inside the whirlwind.

The party planner is expecting 2,000 people to drop by bearing diapers and wipes and matching onesies. Michael W. Smith is blaring from the loudspeakers while kids stuff cotton candy in their faces and bounce in donated bounce houses.

"It's crazy," Ben says in a quiet moment.

And it's about to get crazier, once Inside Edition takes the Bylers' story national.

The Bylers already have been blessed with a year of free dinners from Let's Eat and a year's supply of baby formula from Enfamil. Neighbors and friends have contributed diapers and clothes. A lawyer offered his services.

"If something comes up and you don't know the answer," lawyer Lee R. Carr II tells Ben in the hallway, "I'll do whatever I can to get the answer for you."

Here comes the crew from Inside Edition.

"Whaddaya think?" the producer asks Ben as a fuzzy microphone on a long stick dangles over his head.

"It's awesome," Ben says for the umpteenth time. "We just want to thank everyone."

Bay News 9 is waiting. A reporter clips a microphone to Ben's shirt and positions him near a list of sponsors.

"This is drawing a lot of attention," the reporter says.

"It's really amazing that people care about this," Ben says into the camera. "Me and Karoline are just taken aback."

If Ben Byler could have anything he wanted right now, what would it be?

"Prayers," he says.

Ben Montgomery can be reached at bmontgomery@sptimes.com or 813 661-2443.

[Last modified August 26, 2007, 10:17:27]