Tom and Amanda Barnhart’s quadruplets were born Sept. 23 at Kettering Medical Center nearly three months premature. They were the first quads born at KMC since 1974.
Here are the babies’ birth weights and what they weigh now:
Christian Lee Barnhart, 2 pounds, 6 ounces; 7 pounds, 14 ounces
Beau Hunter Barnhart, 2 pounds, 11 ounces; 8 pounds, 3 ounces
Ashlynn Marie Barnhart, 2 pounds, 2 ounces; 6 pounds, 10 ounces
Dakota Elaine Barnhart, 2 pounds, 11 ounces; 7 pounds, 2 ounces
The Barnharts won’t find their Christmas presents neatly wrapped under the tree this morning.
Instead their bundles of joy will be sound asleep in their cribs — or screaming because it’s feeding time.
Regardless, Tom and Amanda Barnhart, of Madison Twp., couldn’t ask for more this holiday. On Sept. 23, Amanda Barnhart, 30, delivered quadruplets — two boys, two girls — at Kettering Medical Center, the hospital’s first quads since 1974.
The babies were born nearly three months premature and two of them were recently released from the hospital to complete the family in time for Christmas. The family grew from three — Tom and Amanda Barnhart and their 3-year-old son, Thomas IV — to seven in a matter of 3 minutes, 5 seconds.
They now have enough kids for a basketball team, or, since Tom Barnhart is general manager of Green Tree Golf Course in Lebanon, one too many for a foursome.
On Wednesday morning, with three babies, Ashlynn, Beau and Christian crying, and Dakota sleeping in her crib, and with Thomas running up and down the stairs, there appeared to be chaos in the house. But for them, it was just another normal day.
Welcome to parenthood times five.
After Thomas was born, the couple tried to have more children, then went on fertility medication. It sure worked, and the babies were given first names that started with A, B, C and D because that’s what they were called during the pregnancy.
The babies eat every three hours around the clock, and it takes about 30 minutes to feed each one, though with the help of a nanny, Tammy Hall, the Barnharts can feed at least three of them simultaneously. Dakota usually is the last to eat because she’s the “calm one,” Amanda said.
Feeding time in the Barnhart home is referred to as “shark attacks.” When one baby is hungry, all four are hungry. Within a few minutes, the bedroom becomes silent.
“They’re happy,” Tom said while feeding one of the babies.
They go through 250 diapers and 560 ounces of formula a week.
“By the time you relax,” he said, “they’re ready to eat again.”
After the feeding, Amanda called for Thomas IV, the designated “big helper.” He quickly arrived with several bibs for his two sisters and two brothers.
The Barnharts are trying to make the transition from “only child” to “big brother” as smooth as possible for Thomas. They don’t want him to feel slighted from the attention paid to his siblings.
As for Christmas, instead of driving to one of their parents’ homes, a holiday tradition, the Barnharts are staying home.
“We are a family now,” Tom said. “It’s time to start our own family traditions.”
All he wanted for Christmas was “happy and healthy” babies, he said.
His wife added: “What more could we want or ask for for Christmas? We got all the little ones.”
They won’t be little long. The quadruplets, due on Dec. 10, all have gained substantial weight since birth. Two of them, Ashlynn and Beau, wear oxygen and the other two sleep on devices that monitor their breathing. But Tom Barnhart said in a blink of an eye, they will be as old as Thomas and Thomas will be in kindergarten.
Amanda Barnhart was placed on bed rest on Sept. 5 and 99 days later, the last two babies were released from the hospital. They hate to think of the number of one-hour round trips they made from their home to the hospital.
But, as Tom said, “We wouldn’t have it any other way. We have to thank God for all the miracles He gave us. They’re perfect. It’s amazing.”
Amanda called the quadruplets and Thomas “our five little miracles.”
Eventually the conversation centered around to the school massacre last week in Connecticut when 20 Newtown students were killed in one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history. Tom and Amanda Barnhart glanced at their quadruplets lying on the floor.
“As much as I loved our children before,” he said, “I now love them that much more.”
No one seemed to mind that the seven embroidered stockings hanging on the fireplace were empty and under the tree was bare.
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