Oh, baby! Meridian native gives birth to sextuplets

By Staff
PROUD GRANDPARENTS – Georgia and Jimmie Jones, of Meridian, are the proud grandparents of sextuplets born to their daughter, Diamond Harris, and son-in-law, Christopher, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital.
By Lynette Wilson / staff writer
July 30, 2002
Meridian native Diamond Harris went into labor three weeks ago at an Alabama hospital prepared to deliver five babies. She woke up with six.
Diamond and Christopher Harris are the parents of Alabama's first set of sextuplets: two girls and four boys born between 7:27 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. on July 7.
On Wednesday, Meridian area family and friends will help celebrate the rare births with another rare event a baby shower at Union Station.
Harris, 27, a nurse, was 26 and a half weeks pregnant when she went into labor. The babies were delivered by Caesarean section at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 … and 6
About a month into her pregnancy, Harris said she looked about seven months, and it was then that her doctor told her she was carrying twins.
Harris' husband Christopher, a Choctaw native, teaches third grade and is an instructor at the Teach Me Learning Centers in Birmingham. They live in Center Point, Ala.
Harris said they already had a seven-year-old son Dewayne, but wanted to grow their family by one more.
But when it came to getting pregnant, her body was having trouble producing eggs. So she decided to get some help. Harris' doctor gave her hormone shots and within three weeks she was pregnant, she said.
Coordination
Ambalavana said it took a lot of coordination to get the staff of 25 doctors and nurses organized for the delivery.
The coordination and organization in the hospital has carried over to daily life. It takes Harris and a lactation nurse to feed all six babies.
The babies
Harris said it took the whole pregnancy to come up with five names. "We chose the name Kyle Jacob for the sixth baby after Jacob, the trickster, in the Bible."
She said she can already see the babies developing their own distinct personalities.
Wal-Mart donated cribs for all six babies and private donations have come in from as far as Texas and Virginia, Christopher Harris said.
The UAB Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology initiated the Christopher Harris Family Fund by donating $6,000.
Help from grandma
Tanner, a nurse in Birmingham, said she rearranged her work schedule to allow time to help with the babies.
And Harris' mother, Georgia Jones of Meridian, is arranging Wednesday's baby shower.
HOW THEY MEASURE UP:
Birth Name Gender Time Weight
Order
1 Kiera Christine Female 7:27 a.m. 1 lb. 4 ounces
2 Kalynne Antoinett Female 7:28 a.m. 1 lb. 8 ounces
3 Kaleb Reddrick Male 7:28 a.m. 1 lb. 11 ounces
4 Kobe Byshari Male 7:28 a.m. 1 lb. 8 ounces
5 Kieran Anthony Male 7:28 a.m. 1 lb. 12 ounces
6 Kyle Jacob Male 7:30 a.m. 1 lb. 11 ounces
Source: The University of Alabama at Birmingham