Family Hoped For A Girl, Gets 12th Baby Boy

It’s a boy! Again.

Kateri and Jay Schwandt of Rockford, Mich., welcomed their 12th baby into the family last week. A brood of now — count ‘em — 12 boys.

“We didn’t know what he would be when he was first born,” a smiling Kateri Schwandt told the local NBC News station. “We don’t find out. It’s always a boy, but it’s always a surprise.”

Tucker Ray Schwandt was born on Aug. 4 — the newest sibling among the other boys ranging in age up to 21 years old.


Tucker’s 11 older brothers rushed into their mother’s room at St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, Mich., to greet their newest brother.

“I never imagined I’d be sitting here with my 12th child,” Jay Schwandt, said.

The proud parents told the station they had been hoping for a girl, but this time, like the past 11 times, it was not to be.

“I’m sure a little girl probably would be fun, but we know what we’re doing. Sometimes I feel like I’m living in a locker room,” Kateri Schwandt said. She certainly has enough sons to form a football team.

The family’s oldest son, Ty, said there are benefits to being part of such a large family.

“I know how to manage time and manage a schedule and make sure kids get where they need to be and get picked up when mom forgets every now and then,” he said.

Amazingly, dad Jay says he’s not opposed to having more kids. He says maybe the 13th “will be the charm” that gets the family a girl.

Information Nigeria