Leland quintuplets, parents make homecoming | News

LELAND, NC (WECT) – After a Brunswick County woman and her husband welcomed five new children into the world last month in Mesa, AZ, the parents and babies finally made their homecoming to Leland safely Wednesday.

Family members and friends met the babies for the first time as they exited an airplane at Wilmington International Airport with their parents, Carmen Milam Matthews and her husband Mike.

Carmen, 33, underwent a 34-week pregnancy and was under the care of renowned perinatologist John Elliott, MD, before giving birth to two girls and three boys.

The children's names and weights at birth are as follows:

• Lorna Brenn, girl, 4 pounds, 3 ounces
• Layton Cooper, boy, 4 pounds, 13 ounces
• Carleigh Sue, girl, 3 pounds, 10 ounces
• Rucker Mitchell, boy, 2 pounds, two ounces
• Eason John, boy, 3 pounds, 12 ounces

Because Rucker is underweight, after he was taken off of the plane, he went straight to the hospital. Carmen and Mike said he will likely be released in a few weeks, once he puts on some more pounds. Since Rucker needed to go straight to the hospital, Angel Medflight, a medical transport company out of Arizona, donated a private flight for the family.

The new parents said they are getting used to having a family of seven. They described feeding time as pretty hectic. The children eat every three hours and Carmen explained the process of feeding all five of them can take a full hour.

Both Carmen and Mike hope to go back to work soon. They said with help from family and friends, they will be able to do so.

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