Miss. Couple Who Had Quintuplets Has New Baby Due in July: 'If I Can Handle 5, I Can Handle 6’
Haylee and Shawn Ladner's sixth baby will arrive 17 months after their quintuplets were born
The Ladner family is adding another baby to the mix
Haylee and Shawn Ladner will welcome their sixth child in July, roughly 17 months after their quintuplets arrived in February 2023
The parents were not planning to add to the family, but Haylee said she may have forgotten to take her birth control in December when three of the babies were hospitalized with pneumonia
The Ladner quintuplets just turned 1, and they’re getting a new sibling as a birthday gift!
"We weren't trying, and I was on birth control," Mississippi mom Haylee Ladner told Today about the unexpected news that she and her husband, Shawn, are expecting a girl, due to arrive in July.
But the mom of five said she may have forgotten to take a pill during the “chaos” that was their December when three of the quintuplets were hospitalized for pneumonia.
"I was sure it would be negative," Haylee said, referring to the pregnancy test she took soon afterward.
Related: Miss. Couple Shares First Photos of 2-Month-Old Quintuplets While Spending Easter Together in NICU
The new baby will join identical quadruplets Adalyn Elizabeth, Everleigh Rose, Malley Kate, Magnolia Mae and brother Jake Easton, who have all recovered from their December illness and are now "thriving."
With Jake about to take his first steps any minute and the girls crawling up a storm, the Ladners were too busy to accept the good news — at first, Today reported.
“For one thing, I was really, really tired, but I assumed it was just because I have five kids! Of course I’m tired,” Haylee said. "So I just kind of chalked it up to that."
Related: Miss. Couple Celebrates as First Quintuplet Comes Home: 'Even Better Than We Could Have Imagined'
When she told Shawn about her positive pregnancy test, he was in apparent denial as well.
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"I was like, 'Where are you going?' " Haylee recalled Shawn taking in the news and immediately putting on his jacket to leave. “And he says, ‘I’m going to get more tests!’ ”
Related: Parents of 2 Sets of Identical Twins, Born Only 13 Months Apart, Say They're 'Doing Great'
Haylee told the outlet, laughing: “Well, of course those were positive, too.”
But with a few weeks for the news to set in, the parents are ready to welcome another baby to the mix. The new addition will be roughly 17 months younger than the quints.
“It was scary at first, because they’re going to be so close together in age, but if I can handle five, I can handle six!” Haylee said.
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