‘Diaper Dozen’ – minus two – reunites at St. Luke’s East three years later
Six sets of twins started their lives together in January 2015 at St. Luke’s East Hospital. The “Diaper Dozen” — minus one pair — reunited three years later on Friday as the happy-go-lucky duos celebrated their third birthdays together at a party hosted by the St. Luke’s staff.
It marked the five sets of twins’ first reunion since leaving the hospital as newborns and, despite being separated through the years, the toddlers seemed to share an unspoken bond the moment they were brought back together. The sixth set of twins lives in Florida.
There were no strangers in the room, with handholding and hugs ruling the afternoon.
Three years ago, the twins’ story made national and international headlines, while also creating a buzz in the Lee’s Summit community.
“We’ve had 17,000 ‘happy birthdays’ at the hospital, but we’ve never had six sets of twins here at the same time,” St. Luke’s Chief Nursing Officer Gloria Solis said. “It’s very rare anywhere.”
The nickname for the twins came from suggestions the staff received via email from the community.
“We settled on the ‘Diaper Dozen,’” Solis said.
At birth, 11 of the 12 babies were assigned to the hospital’s Level 3 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), where they received care for a variety of medical needs and concerns. While they don’t all share the same birthday, the twins shared the experience of days (and sometimes weeks) together in the NICU.
“Though parents bond with their babies in NICU, it can be very scary and stressful for them — very scary,” Solis said. “These parents also bonded with each other through this experience.”
Fraternal twins, Kaylee and Kira, were born at 35 weeks.
“They had weight, blood sugar, and temperature issues,” their mother, Lisa Rice, said.
Today, Kaylee and Kira are healthy and thriving, as were all of the twins who celebrated at Friday’s reunion party.
“Kaylee is artsy and happy,” Lisa said. “Kira is the boss and in charge of it all. They play off of each other and disagree during the day, but, at night, they always fall asleep snuggling.”
Brian Schwaebler, father to Aaron and Tyler, understands the bond of twins. Not only is he the father to two of the “Diaper Dozen,” Schwaebler himself is a twin.
“I hoped we would have twins and was so excited when I found out we were,” he said. “My brother and I are best friends to this day. We do whatever we can for each other. We’re always hanging out and talking to each other. I hope this same thing for Aaron and Tyler.”
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, multiple births, including twins, are on the rise in the United States. Between 1915 (the first year reliable data was available), 2 percent of all births were multiple and this remained constant until the 1980s, when the number started to increase. Today, multiple births account for one in 30 pregnancies, or 3.5 percent.
The toddler twins played games, enjoyed a cupcake and ice cream bar, and opened gifts during their birthday celebration. They also posed for photos that recreated each pairs’ face-to-face image taken as newborns.
These individual photos were then followed by an attempt at a group photo, which actually turned into a “Diaper Dozen” playdate. The new best friends found it much more amusing to laugh, hold hands, and perform somersaults together than to pose for a photograph.
“These children and their parents will be connected for the rest of their lives,” Solis said.
This story was originally published January 20, 2018 at 5:26 PM with the headline "‘Diaper Dozen’ – minus two – reunites at St. Luke’s East three years later."