Birth Announcement and Loss

Dear friends,

It was with joy that we welcomed four children into the world on Wednesday afternoon. Yes, we are parents of quadruplets (1/700,000 births), and so proudly so. And no, it doesn’t run in our family (or anyone else’s, for that matter!).  Unfortunately, our children were born incredibly premature at 25.5 weeks, each weighing 1.5 to less than 2lbs. Going into the delivery, Rachel and I both feared for our newborns; Rachel had done all she knowingly could to stave off the labor as much as possible, including hospital bedrest. Thankfully, the delivery was seamless and Rachel’s recovery incredibly quick.  We were so blessed to have two boys and two girls, later given the following names:

- Audrey Hedditch Haughey (baby A)

- Thomas Harcourt Haughey (baby B)

- Joseph William Haughey (baby C)

- Charlotte Elisabeth Haughey (baby D).

Babies "A, B, C and D” (as they were affectionately known in our prenatal ultrasounds) were born without full development of their organs, especially their lungs, and one of our sons ("Baby C", Joseph William) was born with a rare congenital heart defect known as Truncus Arteriosus  We had been informed of his heart concern earlier in the pregnancy and had been seeking the best care available knowing that he would need open heart surgery within weeks of his birth, assuming he could get to a proper size and weight.  Thankfully, all babies were put on critical support (via the capable, loving hands of 35 people in a crowded delivery room) on Weds immediately following their births and were amazingly stable for their condition and gestational age. It was difficult to see the children — they looked so unformed, and yet their faces and limbs were so perfectly unique like any child’s.

Early Friday morning we received a call that Joseph’s lungs were beginning to fail. Upon arrival, it was clear that he would not make it. We elected to have all support withdrawn and enjoyed one of the most joyful moments of our lives with our son before he passed fifteen minutes later in our arms.  We wept and mourned his passing, but committed him to God then and there with joy in our hearts. We were lovingly joined in this moment by Will’s parents and Rachel’s brother, John.

Tomorrow (Monday, March 7 @ 5:00pm), we will celebrate Joseph’s short life in a small memorial service at Columbia University/NY Pres’ Pauline A. Hartford Memorial Chapel on their campus at 165th and Broadway  The service is open to all and will afterwards be followed be an open reception hosted by our Hannah’s (20 months) Godparents, Heather and Benjamin Grizzle, at 311 Amsterdam (near 75th Street), Penthouse A. Any and all are welcome at either or both event. For the reception, please rsvp (morning) to Heather at heathergrizzle@gmail.com.

Now, the fight is on for the three that remain. Audrey, born 1lb 9oz, has been leading the pack, or as the nurses say, “flying". She’s our pacesetter, and unlike her siblings, has never needed endotracheal intubation. She is already being fed small doses of mama’s milk.  Thomas, born 1lb 15oz was extubated over the weekend and is doing quite well. His brain sometimes forgets to remind him that he needs to breath, so we’re taking it one day at a time (they actually give caffeine to quicken the brain in these instances…). Thankfully, he too has started to feed. And our dear Charlotte, born the same size as her sister, is bringing up the rear. She’s the fairest of them all, and we’re hopeful that she will be extubated tomorrow.  These babies have a long road ahead of them (~14 more NICU weeks), and we’re so grateful for the competent staff at the Columbia NY Pres NICU. Their expertise, care and compassion is just so dear to us. There is really no way to properly thank those who are literally holding your children's lives in their hands.  

We look forward to seeing many of you tomorrow at the ceremony or reception.