The Rios babies started coming this week at WellSpan Gettysburg Hospital.
And they just kept coming: first Ricardo, then Diana, and finally Emiliano.
Valentin Rios and two of his sisters, Rosy and Claudia, all welcomed new babies in less than 48 hours, producing three beautiful, tiny, blanket-wrapped cousins that the siblings (and also aunts and uncles) were able to hold in their arms at the same time in the hospital’s maternity center.
All three babies were due in May but Valentin’s partner, Alondra, started off the excitement early when she had to be induced April 27. Rosy was on her way to visit Alondra in the hospital when Rosy’s water broke. The two of them ended up giving birth within 12 hours of each other on April 28, Alondra to Ricardo and Rosy to Diana.
Claudia laughed that now the pressure was on her. She actually was scheduled to be induced on April 28, the same day as her sister and brother welcomed new children, but did not have her son, Emiliano, until April 30.
And there were more coincidences! Emiliano was born on the same day as his proud grandpa, who lives in Mexico.
The Rios siblings are from a family of eight brothers and sisters, five of who also live in Mexico.
Now they are eager for birthday parties, holidays, and other shared times as their children grow up together in the same town, Bendersville, Adams County.
Valentin said, “The teacher is going to call their last name, Rios, and they will all stand up at the same time.”
This is the second time in less than a year that family members gave birth on the same day at the hospital. In May 2023, identical twins Rebecca Lawrence and Christina Keefer gave birth to children just hours apart at WellSpan Gettysburg Hospital.
“Our slogan here is ‘all in the family,’” jokes the maternity center’s assistant nurse manager Rachel Donaldson. “We love it!”