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08-02-2001, 07:03 PM
This was in Tuesday's Washington Post:
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O's Mora: 'It's Incredible,' On Birth of Quintuplets
By Dave Sheinin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 31, 2001; Page D01
BALTIMORE, July 30 -- Melvin Mora kept repeating the words: "It's incredible." Mora, the Baltimore Orioles' center fielder, had seen the babies with his own eyes -- five living, breathing people each barely the size of his fist -- and it wasn't until then that the enormity of the gift given to him and his wife became clear.
Gisel Mora had given birth to quintuplets Saturday at about 7 a.m. at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Genesis came first, at 1.51 pounds, followed by Christian (2.48), Rebekah (1.88), Matthew David (2.01) and Jada Priscilla (1.88).
Although they were born about 2 1/2 months prematurely, all five are said to be relatively healthy. Three of the babies are able to breathe on their own, without the aid of oxygen machines, but all five are expected to remain in the hospital for another two or three months. Gisel Mora, although suffering from a slight fever, is expected to be sent home Tuesday. The Moras have a daughter, Tatiana, 4, from Gisel's previous marriage.
"God has blessed us," Melvin Mora said this afternoon. "All the babies are doing fine. . . . [The doctors] don't know how they are doing so well, but they are. I'm so happy."
Tonight, for the first time this season -- since learning in February that Gisel was pregnant with quintuplets -- Mora jogged to his spot in the Orioles' outfield unburdened by the worry over his wife and unborn babies.
"I'm just happy to have my babies now," he said. "It was a hard situation because I had to travel so much and leave my wife alone. Now I'm more relaxed because they're born. They're already here. . . . It was hard to concentrate on baseball."
Mora, a 29-year-old native of Venezuela, was in Anaheim with the Orioles on Saturday when he got the first phone call at about 2 a.m. PDT. Gisel had gone into labor. The first flight Mora could catch left at 7:30 a.m., but before the plane had taken off he got another call.
"She had delivered around 7 a.m.," Mora said. "The doctor called and said they were already born. He said, 'Congratulations.' I said, 'What? You didn't wait for me?' But she couldn't hold it any longer."
Gisel was 6 1/2 months into her pregnancy; doctors had told the Moras that if delivery could be delayed for seven full months, the chances were better that all five would be healthy.
Melvin Mora said he was nervous when he got the phone call "because I knew it was too early and she needed two more weeks. The longer she could wait the better the babies would be. But she said she couldn't hold it any more. She felt a lot of contractions. I said, 'If God wants to deliver now, we have to pray. That's it.' I'm just glad they're healthy."
When Mora finally made it to the hospital, some of the babies were on oxygen machines, some were breathing on their own in incubators. They were too small to hold, but he and his wife spoke to them. "They recognize our voices," Mora said.
When Mora got to the Orioles' clubhouse this afternoon, he entered with a tired, sheepish grin and was besieged by teammates, their right hands outstretched. Atop his locker, someone had left a giant package of diapers.
"It was the happiest I've seen him in six months," said Orioles Manager Mike Hargrove. "I told him he's going to go broke buying five cigars for everybody."
Teammates wanted to know the babies' names and birth weights, and Mora tried to oblige, but the information sometimes came out sort of jumbled. "It's too many babies," he finally said. "It's just incredible."
© 2001 The Washington Post Company
___________________________________
O's Mora: 'It's Incredible,' On Birth of Quintuplets
By Dave Sheinin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 31, 2001; Page D01
BALTIMORE, July 30 -- Melvin Mora kept repeating the words: "It's incredible." Mora, the Baltimore Orioles' center fielder, had seen the babies with his own eyes -- five living, breathing people each barely the size of his fist -- and it wasn't until then that the enormity of the gift given to him and his wife became clear.
Gisel Mora had given birth to quintuplets Saturday at about 7 a.m. at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Genesis came first, at 1.51 pounds, followed by Christian (2.48), Rebekah (1.88), Matthew David (2.01) and Jada Priscilla (1.88).
Although they were born about 2 1/2 months prematurely, all five are said to be relatively healthy. Three of the babies are able to breathe on their own, without the aid of oxygen machines, but all five are expected to remain in the hospital for another two or three months. Gisel Mora, although suffering from a slight fever, is expected to be sent home Tuesday. The Moras have a daughter, Tatiana, 4, from Gisel's previous marriage.
"God has blessed us," Melvin Mora said this afternoon. "All the babies are doing fine. . . . [The doctors] don't know how they are doing so well, but they are. I'm so happy."
Tonight, for the first time this season -- since learning in February that Gisel was pregnant with quintuplets -- Mora jogged to his spot in the Orioles' outfield unburdened by the worry over his wife and unborn babies.
"I'm just happy to have my babies now," he said. "It was a hard situation because I had to travel so much and leave my wife alone. Now I'm more relaxed because they're born. They're already here. . . . It was hard to concentrate on baseball."
Mora, a 29-year-old native of Venezuela, was in Anaheim with the Orioles on Saturday when he got the first phone call at about 2 a.m. PDT. Gisel had gone into labor. The first flight Mora could catch left at 7:30 a.m., but before the plane had taken off he got another call.
"She had delivered around 7 a.m.," Mora said. "The doctor called and said they were already born. He said, 'Congratulations.' I said, 'What? You didn't wait for me?' But she couldn't hold it any longer."
Gisel was 6 1/2 months into her pregnancy; doctors had told the Moras that if delivery could be delayed for seven full months, the chances were better that all five would be healthy.
Melvin Mora said he was nervous when he got the phone call "because I knew it was too early and she needed two more weeks. The longer she could wait the better the babies would be. But she said she couldn't hold it any more. She felt a lot of contractions. I said, 'If God wants to deliver now, we have to pray. That's it.' I'm just glad they're healthy."
When Mora finally made it to the hospital, some of the babies were on oxygen machines, some were breathing on their own in incubators. They were too small to hold, but he and his wife spoke to them. "They recognize our voices," Mora said.
When Mora got to the Orioles' clubhouse this afternoon, he entered with a tired, sheepish grin and was besieged by teammates, their right hands outstretched. Atop his locker, someone had left a giant package of diapers.
"It was the happiest I've seen him in six months," said Orioles Manager Mike Hargrove. "I told him he's going to go broke buying five cigars for everybody."
Teammates wanted to know the babies' names and birth weights, and Mora tried to oblige, but the information sometimes came out sort of jumbled. "It's too many babies," he finally said. "It's just incredible."
© 2001 The Washington Post Company