Dad meets newborn quadruplets for 1st time while home from deployment

ByWill Jones WLS logo
Monday, February 1, 2016
Father meets newborn quadruplets
Four newborn quadruplets are meeting their father - home from his deployment in South Korea - for the first time.

HINSDALE, Ill. -- Four newborn quadruplets are meeting their father - home from his deployment in South Korea - for the first time.

Anthony Burch and his wife Mary Pat are now the parents to Henry, Molly, Nathaniel and Samuel.

"I can't wait to hold them," Anthony said.

This is the moment this Army captain has been waiting for.

The quadruplets are getting stronger every day in the neonatal intensive care unit at AMITA Adventist Medical Center at Hinsdale.

Although Anthony couldn't be in the delivery room last Sunday morning to welcome them into the world, he wasn't too far away thanks to FaceTime.

"Perfect timing. Everything clicked together I was able to see the babies as they were getting cleaned off in the room," Anthony said.

"He got to see them before I did even though I was right there and he was 12,000 miles away," Mary Pat said.

"I was nervous, there are so many things going on and so many babies that you are trying to get information on each one, make sure each one is safe and healthy," Anthony said.

He arrived home Thursday night. This morning, he surprised their toddler, Alice. The Burchs can't wait to bring the babies home and introduce them to their big sister.

"I don't think she fully grasps it yet. When I was pregnant if you pointed to my belly she would say baby. I don't think she quite gets the volume of babies that are going to be coming home soon," Mary Pat said.

The family won't have much time together, as Anthony only has two weeks of paternity leave. He'll be back this summer.

The family is stationed in Fort Hood, but Mary Pat is going to stay in Tinley Park with her parents for now - she's going to need a lot of help.