'Lucky seven' takes on a whole new meaning
Couple to welcome second set of twins on TLC's 'A Baby Story'
BY LORI SABLE HERSCHMAN
Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY LORI HERSCHMAN Twin brothers Augustus (l) and Quentin Horvath, 5, hold their 5-month-old twin sisters, Emily (l) and Bethany.

HOWELL - It became "seventh heaven" last summer for the Horvaths.

Linda Ann and Joe Horvath, who have lived in Howell for 12 years, welcomed twin daughters on July 29 to add to their ever-growing family, which now totals nine.

Bethany Rose and Emily Elizabeth, weighing in at 6 pounds 6 ounces and 6 pounds 1 1/4 ounces, respectively, joined the all-male brood - including twin kindergartners Quentin and Augustus, who turned 5 in August. Both sets of twins are fraternal, meaning they came from two separate eggs. The girls' other siblings are Joseph, 13, William, 10, and Benjamin, 7.

As if that weren't enough excitement for one family, the couple decided to have the pregnancy and births of the babies documented on television through The Learning Channel's (TLC) "A Baby Story." The episode is scheduled to air at 2 p.m. Jan. 16 and again at 9:30 a.m. Jan. 25.

The Horvaths pose for a family photo at home. Front (l-r) mom Linda Ann, Bethany, 5 months, Augustus, 5, dad Joe, Emily, 5 months, Quentin, 5, and Joseph, 13; and rear (l-r): Benjamin, 7, and William, 10.

Linda, who was 35 when she gave birth to the girls, had been watching "A Baby Story" for years and decided on a whim to check out the series' Internet Web site to see how she could get on the show, which she thought would be "cool." At that point she knew she was expecting another set of twins. She submitted an abbreviated version of her story, and several months later someone from the show contacted her, expressing interest in the family and asking her to fill out a more detailed questionnaire.

Because "A Baby Story" no longer follows couples through their entire pregnancy, according to Linda, the Horvaths were also asked to take their own home video of their family life, including any significant events such as a sonogram or a baby shower. Linda was told the producers would get back in touch with her as her due date approached. In the meantime, she and her husband shot video whenever they could, trying to capture their day-to-day routine before the twins' arrival.

For Linda, being asked to take video of the children was a real blessing because they now have memories they likely would not otherwise have.

"We did more recording of the kids than ever before," she said.

For the first couple of days after finding out she was pregnant, Linda was upset and worried, but her husband, Joe, 37, felt different.

When the test came up positive, "I was happy - it didn't bother me at all," he said. "She was a little more shocked than I was, a little more concerned."

With five children, Linda said, she already had a full plate, especially since each of her sons has special needs, ranging from attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) and the autistic spectrum. Three of the boys have learning disabilities as well, which is not uncommon with special needs children, according to Linda. Also, she said, having one child with ADD or ADHD increases the chances that other siblings will have it, too, particularly if they are males.

Linda's concerns soon eased, however.

"This is what God planned," she had told herself at the time, "and whatever happens, happens for a reason."

Linda confided in Joe - whom she described as being "very laid back" and "kind of shy" - that she had a feeling they were having twins again because she was so sick. Only seven weeks into her pregnancy, an ultrasound confirmed her prediction.

"I was laughing so hard," she said, "I almost fell off the [examination] table."

As for her husband's reaction, "Not much bothers me," he said. "I guess it's odd to have twins twice like that, [but] she kind of knew it from the beginning. You've got to take whatever you get. You take things as they come."

The pregnancy was not an easy one, according to Linda, who said twins run on both sides of the family.

"I pretty much spent a lot of time on the couch," she said. "It was tough."

In addition, unlike when she carried her boy twins, she had so much morning sickness that for months all she could manage to eat was rice and bags of frozen fruit. She was on antinausea medication for most of her pregnancy, she said.

Because of how the babies were positioned in the womb, it was not until about seven months into the pregnancy that the Horvaths found out one of the babies was a girl. Soon after, they learned that the other baby was a girl, too. With a house full of boys, they were elated.

"We were both really excited when we found out it was two girls," Joe said.

Since Linda knew she was being induced to deliver, the camera crew came to their home on Newbury Road that Saturday morning and followed the family around as they prepared to go to the hospital. Before heading to Kimball Medical Center in Lakewood, the couple dropped off the boys at Bethany's godparents' house nearby. Although under normal circumstances just she and her husband would have been at the hospital, Linda said, the producers had encouraged them to have some of their relatives waiting there for the twins to arrive.

Linda said she did not even think about the camera rolling during labor or delivery. Instead, she just tried to stay focused on what she had to do, she said, and was more nervous about the actual births than who was in the room with her. Despite the second twin presenting breech, or feet first, she was able to avoid a Caesarean section, with Bethany and Emily arriving only three minutes apart.

Most people could not fathom the enormous responsibilities, both financial and otherwise, that are involved in raising such a large family. Even with the new additions, for instance, the Horvaths still only have a seven-passenger van because they can't afford to buy a vehicle that will accommodate everyone.

"That is our biggest financial concern right now," Linda said.

When asked if she had any outside help once she and the babies were home from the hospital, Linda said it was very limited. Joe's stepmother, who lives in Pennsylvania, came for the first week, but that was the extent of the extra aid. While the community reached out to them, she said, she does not like to take advantage of people and also wanted things to stay as normal as possible for the boys. They did, however, accept all the food donations that poured in, she said, and she knows she can count on friends and neighbors in an emergency.

Linda said she's also very fortunate to have a husband who goes "over the top" to do as much as he can for everybody.

The two met when Linda was 15 and Joe, who grew up in Pennsylvania, was 17. He was living in Howell then, working as a fisherman out of Shark River in Neptune. Linda had been going to the Jersey Shore practically every weekend. The pair ended up crossing paths on Ocean Avenue in Belmar and quickly became friends. After graduating from St. Aloysius High School in Jersey City, where she was born and raised, Linda and her grandfather moved into his summer home at the shore. She and Joe did not begin seeing one another until about two years later. They dated on and off before their relationship grew more serious and they were married in March 1993.

Linda ended up enrolling at The Stuart School in Wall Township to train as an executive secretary. Before starting a family, she was employed by the Saint Barnabas Health Care System for 10 years, the first eight of which she primarily spent doing hospital fundraising as a development assistant for Kimball Medical Center. As the mother of two, she worked part-time in the medical records department of Community Medical Center, Toms River. The couple had hoped to have four children and thought their family was complete after the births of Quentin and Augustus, but God had other plans for them, according to Linda.

Joe, a graduate of Howell High School, is a conductor with Amtrak. He commutes to Long Island City in Queens, N.Y., five days a week and works the night shift, leaving the house at 6 p.m. and returning around 9 a.m. the next morning. He sleeps for several hours and then helps out with the children; assisting them with homework, reading to them or playing baseball in the backyard, and he also does household chores such as laundry and cooking before going back to work and doing it all over again. For the last two months of the pregnancy, Joe did all the food shopping.

"We're like a team," Linda said. "You can't have a lot of kids and not expect both parents to pitch in."

"Nobody has a specific job here, other than breast-feeding because I [obviously] can't do that," Joe said with a chuckle.

The busiest time of the day, according to Linda, is when all the boys start waking up to get ready for school, with three different pickup times from 6:45 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. During these hours, she must juggle the babies as well, although she tries to nurse them both while the boys are still sleeping.

When asked about their seemingly grueling schedule, Linda said, "Yeah, I think it's hectic ... people will say to me, 'I don't know how you do it.' [But] you have to work hard for the good things in life and they're [the children] definitely the good things."

"There's never a quiet moment around here," Joe said. "Someone's always got an issue."

Three weeks after the babies were born, "A Baby Story" sent a different camera crew than had been there for the delivery to the family's home for a follow-up, or post-birth, visit. The crew shot video of the children in the house and outside in the backyard and even re-enacted scenes from the latter part of Linda's pregnancy when the children were not around. To recreate one scene, Linda was asked to lie on a couch with a pillow stuffed under her shirt to make it look as if she were still pregnant. The couple later sent the show footage from the babies' baptism.

The whole family enjoyed their experience in front of the camera and is excited to watch themselves on TV.

"It was very interesting," Linda said. "The crew was great - very respectful. I would definitely do it again and recommend it [to anyone who is expecting]."

Is the couple planning to add to their family again?

"No," Joe said. "We're not trying, anyway. Besides being tough, it would be a cost factor, we can't stretch too much further."

"But if it happens," Linda said, "that was what was planned for us and we would welcome them with open arms."

For more information about "A Baby Story," visit tlc.discovery.com.