Pasco sextuplets: One home, five to go

By LISA BUIE, Times Staff Writer
Published October 19, 2007

Karoline Byler tells her reluctant daughter Zoe, 4, to return baby brother Brady Christopher to his mom, after allowing Zoe to hold the baby for the first time at home Thursday evening.
	[Stephen J. Coddington | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [Stephen J. Coddington | Times] Brady Christopher Byler, the first of the Byler sextuplets delivered this past September, is now also the first of the sextuplets to come home from the hospital. The day was a big one for Brady Christopher as well as big sister Zoe, who was anxious to hold and cuddle with her new little brother. [Stephen J. Coddington | Times] Karoline and Ben Byler beam as they bring their son Brady Christopher home from the hospital Thursday evening.

WESLEY CHAPEL -- Brady Christopher Byler could have been anywhere. The 1-1/2-month-old sextuplet simply slept, his head filling up only half of the green car seat headrest.

But his parents beamed. Big sister Zoe peered into the carrier, and dog Sasha jumped up for a better look.

"He's really strong physically," mother Karoline Byler bragged a few minutes after making a grand entrance through the double doors of their home. "Three weeks ago, he tried to stand up."

It was Brady's first day home from All Children's Hospital, where he and his four brothers and a sister have been in the neonatal nursery since doctors delivered them by Caesarean section Sept. 1 at adjoining Bayfront Medical Center.

The babies received worldwide media attention after making history as Florida's first sextuplets.

Karoline, 29, and Ben, 30, conceived sextuplets after turning to infertility treatments. Karoline has polycystic ovarian syndrome, which makes conception difficult. The Bylers, who are Roman Catholic, refused when a doctor suggested they remove a couple of the fetuses in hopes of improving the odds for the remaining ones.

Brady was the first to be released, and his early homecoming took grandmother Patty Kierwa by surprise.

"We expected them in November," said Kierwa, who had booked a four-day cruise to the Caribbean. Family members say the others won't be far behind. MacKenzie Margaret could come home as early as Sunday.

Four of the five remaining babies -- MacKenzie, Ryan Patrick, Eli Benjamin, and Jackson Robert -- were listed in fair condition. Charlie Craig, who had to receive breathing help through a tube, was listed in serious condition.

Brady must be hooked up to a monitor that sounds an alarm if he stops breathing momentarily while sleeping. If he does not move after being tapped or rocked, the Bylers must start CPR.

They spent Monday night at the hospital on a sort of dry run.

"This way you feel more comfortable," Karoline said. "The nurses are there."

Karoline plans to spend Saturday night with MacKenzie at the hospital before she is released, while Ben will go it alone at home with Brady and 4-year-old Zoe.

"I'm kind of excited for Ben to be taking care of the baby," Karoline said.

For now, the Bylers will do most of the work themselves, with a little help from relatives. On Nov. 10, the cavalry of volunteers from Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church will begin to arrive.

But Kierwa is confident her daughter and son-in-law are up to caring for seven children. Every night since the babies were born, they have made the 100-mile round trip to and from the hospital in St. Petersburg.

"I really do think Karoline and Ben will be able to handle this," she said. "They were so excited about Brady coming home."

Lisa Buie can be reached at buie@sptimes.com or (813) 909-4604.

[Last modified October 18, 2007, 22:48:01]