Twins first babies of 2003
Although the first baby born at Uniontown Hospital in 2003 didn’t arrive until nearly eight hours after the clock struck midnight, the second arrived a mere three minutes later. The twin boys, Ashton Daniel Klink and Austin Michael Klink, arrived via cesarean section at 7:56 and 7:59 a.m. respectively on Jan. 1, 2003. According to the charge nurse in the New Beginnings department of Uniontown Hospital, the boys were the first newborns of the New Year.
The infants were welcomed by their parents Amy and Mark Klink and proud older brother Brendan Alexander-Paul Klink, who will turn 4 in April.
Amy Klink said the predictions of family members that she would have the boys on New Year’s came true. The boys were supposed to arrive in January, but not until the 30th.
After visiting with Amy’s sister to bring in 2003, the Klinks arrived home at about 3 a.m. on Jan. 1. Amy Klink said she got up three hours later to go to the bathroom and when she stood up, her water broke.
Fortunately, the Hopwood couple had prepared by packing Amy’s bag and quickly arrived at Uniontown Hospital. Amy Klink, 24, said she was prepared for her C-section and after receiving an epidural analgesia, she doesn’t remember much.
For father Mark Klink, 26, it is an experience he will never forget. Mark Klink said he saw both of the babies delivered.
“I was borderline fainting but it was kind of amazing to see,” he said. “We went from one to three just like that.”
Ashton, who weighed in at only 4 pounds and measured 16 1/2 inches, was the first to arrive. Coming second was Austin, who weighed 5 pounds, 2 ounces and measured 18 inches long.
The cesarean section was expected because Austin was in a breech position, but not on New Year’s Day. Amy Klink was slated to have a doctor’s appointment today, when the C-section was going to be scheduled. Instead, the boys arrived 4 1/2 weeks early and eight days before full term.
“We had planned for a C-section. It just came a little earlier than we thought,” Mark Klink said.
The couple had also been prepared for twins for the past few months. Amy Klink said they found out during her second ultrasound that she was carrying two babies. She said the ultrasound operator asked if twins ran in her family. After Amy Klink confirmed that twins do run in her family by stating that her mother is a twin, she found out that she was carrying twins.
While little Brendan became excited, Mark Klink had a slightly different reaction. “My husband’s mouth dropped open and it’s been a roller coaster ever since,” Amy Klink said.
Amy Klink said big brother Brendan has been the most excited of everyone in the family. She said when she was pregnant, Brendan would lay on her belly and feel the kicks of the babies on his face.
After their births, Austin was experiencing rapid breathing and was placed in an incubator. Amy Klink said Austin may have swallowed amniotic fluid and he was placed on an IV and oxygen and monitored. As of Thursday afternoon, he was doing well. Ashton, the smaller of the two, was staying in the room with his mother.
The twins were similar to their older brother in the fact that they share his hair color and weight. “I had all redheads,” Amy Klink said. She added that ironically, Ashton and Austin combined to weigh 9 pounds 2 ounces, which is what Brendan weighed when he was born.
“It was cool that they weighed the same as Brendan,” Amy Klink said. She said that Brendan is perhaps the most excited of anyone about the babies and keeps asking if he can “hold it.”
Other than the weight of the babies, the two labors shared virtually nothing else in common. Amy Klink said she was in labor for 19 hours with Brendan, who arrived four days late and was delivered normally. With the twins, the labor lasted slightly less than three hours before their C-section births.
Mark’s mother, Leigh Klink said she is also happy about the new arrivals and confirmed Brendan’s joy.
“He was so excited he said, ‘I got two new baby brothers now,'” she said.
A little less than a day after bringing the boys into the world, the tired mother wasn’t quite ready to think about having another baby. Mark Klink had other ideas.
“He wants to go for a girl but I’m not too sure,” Amy Klink said.