Christian Family Hoping 14th Child Would Be a Girl Gets Another Boy
Jay and Kateri Schwandt, a devout Catholic couple from Michigan who were still holding onto a glimmer of hope that they would welcome a daughter to their brood of 13 sons with the birth of their newborn, released that hope Wednesday when Kateri gave birth to another boy, named Finley Sheboygan Schwandt.
"We are extremely blessed," Jay told the "Today" show Friday. "He is so happy and healthy."
Finley was born Wednesday evening weighing 8 pounds, 4 ounces and measuring 21 inches long.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The odds of a couple going on a 14-boy streak, the report said, are one in 16,384. In February, Jay expressed his desire to have a daughter but wasn't very upbeat about the odds.
"I would love to have a girl, but I just don't think it's in the cards. The last couple, numbers 12 and 13, we kinda held out a little hope," he told WoodTV.
The Schwandts first made national headlines in 2013 when they welcomed son No. 12, Tucker Ray Schwandt, who was born on Aug. 4 that year. Jay explained at the time that he and his wife weren't opposed to having more children as long as it was medically safe and had already begun to imagine his 13th child being the elusive Schwandt girl. In May 2015, however, the then 40-year-old Kateri gave birth to baby No. 13 and it was another boy.
The family named him Francisco Matthew Schwandt and he joined his band of brothers: Tyler, 25, Zach, 21, Drew, 20, Brandon, 18, Tommy, 15, Vinnie, 14, Calvin, 12, Gabe, 10, Wesley, 8, Charlie, 7, Luke, 5, and Tucker.
Jay and his wife told the "Today" show that Finley's unique middle name was inspired by a story Kateri's father told them before he died eight years ago about a Native American chief who was also a father of many boys. According to the story, the chief was sure his last child would be a girl but when he realized the child was a boy he named him Sheboygan, because "she is a boy again."
"We kinda held out a little hope for a girl, but she was a boy again," Jay said. "We pulled the trigger on Sheboygan for a middle name. ... If ever we were going to use it, now is the time."
Kateri said she has been able to bear 14 sons by "the grace of God, I guess." She further noted that she's "feeling great" and that Finley's "arrival was perfect."
Surprisingly, after having 14 boys, Jay explained that even though it feels like Finley is their final child, he can't guarantee they won't be new parents again.
"I have to leave that door cracked open just a little bit because I've been reminded that I said after 12 and 13 that we were done,'' he told "Today" on Friday. "It feels like we're at the end of the road here."
