Only the bravest young man would show up at her doorstep to take her to prom.
A couple in Michigan have finally welcomed their first female child after having a herd of 14 boys. Jay and Kateri Schwandt welcomed Maggie Jayne on Thursday, November 5. [1] The princess weighed all of 7 lbs., 8 oz., was 20 inches long and has become the light of a home filled to the brim with doting boys.
The mom is super-happy she’d finally get to buy pink clothes as all of her other 14 children have only ever worn blue and the like. None of the couple’s 15 children are adopted, as most people would immediately imagine. They were all born by Kateri and have each lived with their parents from birth.
Jay and Kateri, both 45, began dating as freshmen at the Gaylord High School. They also attended Gaylord St. Mary’s before proceeding to Ferris State University. They were married in 1993 and had three sons before graduating from college. Over the years as the children came, the Lakeview-based couple has continued to acquire more educational qualifications. Jay is a land surveyor with a law degree from Thomas Colley while Kateri holds a Master’s degree in social work – the perfect career for managing her large family.
They’ve been featured in countless interviews on local and international stations as people can’t get enough of this male-heavy family. They even have a live streaming program called “14 outdoorsmen”, and the name would probably have to be adjusted now that a princess is in the mix.
Fourteen boys and now…pink!
Their son, 28-year-old Tyler said to Detroit Free Press the day his sister was born: “My parents were finally blessed with the little girl they never thought they’d end up having. It’s been about 12 hours since my dad told us, and I still haven’t quite wrapped my mind around it.” [2]
Tyler recently moved into his own home about 20 minutes away from his parents’ and is engaged to be married. He explains that his parents were so unprepared for a girl that they didn’t even come up with any girl names during the pregnancy. ‘Maggie Jayne’ was lifted from both of their names – Mom’s middle name is Margaret and Jayne is a feminization of dad’s name, Jay.
Also, the masculine colors that thrive in their home would finally be diluted with a much-needed hint of pink.
“I don’t even know if my mom owns any pink clothing — or anything,” he added.
Tyler hopes the boys would finally start remembering to put the toilet seat down as their sister gets older. None of them have any idea what it’s like to have a young girl at home, and it’s going to be both a crazy and exciting adjustment.
The model ‘large family’
Earlier this year, when Kateri was heavy with Maggie, she mentioned in an interview that “there’s enough testosterone to fill a stadium”. A girl joining the gang would come as a shock to her and this princess would be the most spoilt and pampered thing alive.
Jay also said he was excited to see how a girl would change the dynamics of the home. Maybe, there’d be a little less wrestling, fighting, and rough play.
In order of birth, the couple’s other children are Zach, Drew, Brandon, Tommy, Vinny, Calvan, Gabe, Wesley, Charlie, Luke, Tucker, Francisco, and Finley.
The last boy before Maggie, Finley ‘Sheboygan’ got his weird middle name from a joke told by Kateri’s dad. When she was pregnant with Finley, her father told the story of a Native American chief who had way too many sons and was hoping his last child would be a girl. When the child was born and it turned out to be a boy, the chief named him, Sheboygan — as in, ‘she’s a boy again.’
“So, we decided to have a little fun with it,” she said. “He’s got a lot of brothers standing behind him, so if anybody wants to make fun of his name, they can try.”Life in the Schwandt house is certainly energetic as can be imagined, but the family wouldn’t have it any other way. Kateri described her home as, “Crazy. Chaotic. Noisy. Messy,” but added: “We enjoy it. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t have continued to have this many children.”
Sources
- “After 14 boys, this Michigan family finally welcomes a baby girl.” NPR. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
- “A boy, boy, boy, boy, boy, boy, boy, boy, boy, boy, boy, boy, boy, boy and now a girl!” Detroit Free Press. Frank Witsil. Retrieved November 9, 2020.