One little girl is going to have more brotherly love than most people have in a lifetime! Little Maggie Jayne, who just came into the world last week, has 14 older brothers. Her parents had their hearts set on a girl, and after 14 boys, they finally got their wish. Surely, they love all their children equally, but Maggie Jayne's entrance has to be incredibly exciting given they always wanted at least one girl to join their family.
At the helm of the already large family are Kateri and Jay Schwandt, who are both 45 years old. Together they have sons Tyler, Zach, Drew, Brandon, Tommy, Vinny, Calvan, Gabe, Wesley, Charlie, Luke, Tucker, Francisco, and Finley. Then on Wednesday, they welcomed little Maggie, who weighed in at 7 lbs., 8 oz.
The Schwandts are a fairly well-known family. They've been featured on local and national news networks for their unconventionally large family before, and they also have a livestreaming program, 14 Outdoorsmen.
This family is over the moon with the arrival of little Maggie Jayne! But chances are, there's going to be a bit of adjusting going on. I mean, that's a whole lot of male energy. While some of the sons are grown and out of the house, there are still plenty of boys at home.
Tyler is the oldest of the bunch. He told Today about what it feels like to finally have a little sister. "My parents were finally blessed with the little girl they never thought they'd end up having," the 28-year-old said. "It's been about 12 hours since my dad told us, and I still haven't quite wrapped my mind around it."
It definitely has to be a shock. While the couple had been trying for a girl for years, after some time, you probably get used to having boy after boy. It's surely a lot to take in, but it seems like all family members — parents and brothers — are very excited about the new addition.
Tyler also told the outlet that he didn't think his parents had very many girl names picked out, since they'd never had to come up with any! He said the name Maggie came from his mother, whose middle name is Margaret. Jayne is a variation of his dad's first name, Jay.
Tyler joked about the masculine energy in the house, saying that some habits would have to go. One, in particular, is remembering to leave the toilet seat down for the little miss! Of course, that could take a while, as they've been set in their ways for quite some time now.
Jay, who finally has a daughter, is ecstatic. "We are overjoyed and beyond excited to add Maggie Jayne to our family," he said just after his wife gave birth at Mercy Health Saint Mary's Hospital in Grand Rapids. "This year has been memorable in so many ways, for so many reasons, but Maggie is the greatest gift we could ever imagine."
This family is really something special, not only because there are so many members! Jay and Kateri began dating as high school freshmen. It's an incredible thing because most young relationships don't last more than a few months, let alone 30-plus years and 15 kids.
But they knew they were in it for the long haul. They got married in 1993 and went to the same college, Ferris State University. Before they even graduated from school, they had already welcomed their first three sons.
From there, Kateri earned a master's degree in social work from Grand Valley State University. Jay, who also is a land surveyor, earned a law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School. But while they were busy with school, they kept growing their family, as well.
Back in 2014, Kateri told MLive.com, "If we were to have a girl, I think we would go into shock." It will probably take some time for her to come out of it. But the family will have plenty of time to adjust. It will be interesting to see how the family dynamic changes, but with all of that brotherly love, there's no question that this little girl is very, very lucky.
