It's holiday time and some of us have a full schedule of family, small and large holiday gatherings. There's often an abundance of food and drink, hugs, smiles, laughter and sometimes singing.
I wasn't expecting an abundance of babies.
While attending the gathering at Chapter IV, I had my share of Chase family goodies while enjoying the company of friends and new acquaintances.
My friend Wendy Brunet Burns, of and royalty and a businesswoman making things happen, told me about a family friend who used to babysit her daughter. My jaw dropped when she told me that Farrah and Peyton Larry had had quadruplets. My eyes widened when she showed me a picture of the four little angels.
Farrah Larry and Peyton Larry Sr. knew they were pregnant again in May. In June, they found out they were having quadruplets. The four were born Nov. 20 and recently went home. Left to right, pictured are Lyric, Paisley, Psalm and Fallyn Larry.
I had to grab hold of the high-top table to keep from falling over when she told me it was a natural birth. About 1 in 700,000 families have natural birth quadruplets.
I was introduced to Fallyn, Lyric, Paisley and Psalm.
Twin births happen often enough that families are doubly excited when two babies bring them extra joy. Triples come around far less often, especially in this age of in vitro fertilization that aims to produce one healthy baby but sometimes does even better.
But four?
That's crazy beautiful.
The number of triplets and higher-order births declined significantly between 1998 and 2023 — from 7,625 to 2,653. The biggest drops were multiple birth rates among White and Hispanic mothers. However, during the same time period, the number of Black mothers — like Farrah Larry — with multiple births increased by 25%.
Life just got crazy for the Larry family — in a good way.
In their colorful nighties, the Larry quadruplet girls have become a part of our world.
Peyton "PJ" Larry Jr. has required lots of attention, as two-year-olds do. He has a daily schedule, but he doesn't always stick to it. There are meals and snacks, naps and diaper changes.
With regular Sunday trips to the Slidell Walmart, Farrah has been going through about 65 Pampers every week just to clean PJ.
Now there are many more diapers — and more frequent changes — multiplied four times over.
Farrah, a self-employed transportation service operator, works a production line, changing them baby by baby, in their three-bedroom home. "I just change them all at the same time," said the New Orleans native.
She and Peyton met while Farrah attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Peyton, a Rayne native, attended South Louisiana Community College in Lafayette. They married five years ago and moved to their Slidell home in 2020. Peyton is a postal carrier.
They planned for a larger family, and close family and friends thought they knew what was coming this past Mother's Day when the Larrys shared some exciting news: They were having another baby.
Wrong.
A June OB-GYN visit with Dr. Brooke Schexnaildre confirmed they were having four more babies.
Multiple births can be tricky. The average weight of newborn quads is about 1.4 pounds each. The Larry girls grew so fast they had to bust out early "because there was no more space," according to Farrah's mom, Suewann "Gigi" Dixon. One of the babies weighed 4 pounds before birth.
The morning of Nov. 20, the girls entered our world. One. Then another two minutes later. And another two minutes after that. The fourth arrived two more minutes later.
When the babies recently joined the rest of the family, the news spread quickly. Â took note.
Brunet Burns got the news a few weeks after Mother's Day. Her response? "Shock and excitement — at the same time," she said. "I was prayerful that their babies would be healthy."
I talked with Dixon during her health care job lunch break as she was holding one of her four granddaughters. She calls Farrah Larry, her daughter, "my own little baby doll." Now her baby has multiple babies. Her grandchild total? "I had one little stinky one and now I have five," she laughed.
I'm the oldest of six, most of us two years apart. The quadruplets are only minutes apart. My mom had a heck of a schedule for us. The Larrys' lives have changed, and .
The Larry family and close friends are helping. Peyton drives a four-door sedan. Farrah has a Buick SUV, with one child seat. The village around them got them a silver 2019 Dodge Caravan — and four more child seats — a few days ago.
So many diapers. So much food. So many clothes. So many toys.
Certainly our larger New Orleans and Louisiana villages can help, too. The Larrys have an .
What a way to start the new year.Â
