Lyette Reback ɢᴀᴠᴇ ʙɪʀᴛʜ to a handsome baby boy named Vaughn. And the little one arrived in a somewhat unusual family because he is the 16th child of Lyette and her husband David! That’s right, Lyette and David are the parents of 16 children!
Having 16 children was a big surprise for Lyette Reback, especially since she is an only child and has never had much contact with children throughout her life.
When Lyette Reback married her husband, David, at the age of 20, little did she know that some 24 years later she’d be a mom to 16 children: 12 biological and 4 adopted, with ages ranging from 2 and 22. Yet not only does this mom and charity worker from Florida homeschool her tribe of 10 daughters and 6 boys, she also manages the 88 weekly drop-offs to sports practice, ensures the smooth running of her house (that includes 42 loads of laundry a week!), tucks each child into bed each night, offers advice through her blog, The Rebacks, meets up for dinner with friends, and finds time to work out.
One of the first difficulties when having a child is finding a name, so imagine the lists that must have been drawn up over the years! Opting for more unusual monikers, here are the 16 children: Daly Kay, 22, Ryli, 20, Bliss, 19, Kemper, 17, Glory, 15, Trinity, 13, Courson, 12, Liberty, 11, Judson, 10, Shepherd, 10, Sojourner, 8, Ransom, 8, Victory, 6, Stone, 5, Verity, 4, and finally Vaughn, 2. Reback says she’s not sure if she’s finished having kids, never having ‘put a number on it’ taking it ‘one day at a time.’ Yet, one thing is sure, along with her estate agent husband, David, 49, Lyette feels: “blessed to be able to have children and we really, truly believe that raising children is an incredible opportunity to do something amazing in the world.”
Lyette educates all her children at home, and she spoke about the family’s routine in a statement on social networks. She said: “I am a mother of 16 children! 16 months after the wedding, we had our first child. I never imagined that we would have that many children. Taking care of a house with 16 children is the equivalent of taking care of a small or medium-sized business. We probably serve more meals than small cafes do in a day. When things get tough, I ᴘʀᴀʏ, and I won’t say I haven’t shed a few tears over the years.”
Lyette’s last ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴄʏ was not easy because she suffered from a ʜᴇᴍᴏʀʀʜᴀɢᴇ. Lyette said: “I found out I was ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴛ, and soon after, I started ʙʟᴇᴇᴅɪɴɢ ᴘʀᴏꜰᴜsᴇʟʏ. I called my ɢʏɴᴇᴄᴏʟᴏɢɪsᴛ, and she said I was probably having a ᴍɪsᴄᴀʀʀɪᴀɢᴇ. This was on a Friday, and she told me to come to the office on Monday. When I arrived at the office, the ɢʏɴᴇᴄᴏʟᴏɢɪsᴛ went to do the ᴜʟᴛʀᴀsᴏᴜɴᴅ and just said, Wow! My son was still there! But I was also ʙʟᴇᴇᴅɪɴɢ ʜᴇᴀᴠɪʟʏ. His chances were low. I needed to rest, and with fifteen children at home, this is no easy task. After six weeks, the ʙʟᴇᴇᴅɪɴɢ disappeared! I still had five other problems throughout the ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴄʏ, but I managed to overcome them all, and Vaughn was born healthy. As he fought so hard and overcame all these complications, I decided to name him Vaughn in honor of a friend of ours who has that name and is a soldier.”
The mother said that she and her husband have never regretted having many children. Lyette and her husband David just feel blessed and believe that raising children is an opportunity to do the greatest thing in the world. Living in a large family, Lyette has to get up at 5:30 am, is constantly busy and spends up to 460 pounds (nearly 15 million dong) a week on food. In the same week, her family consumed about 45 liters of milk, 100 eggs, 18 kg of chicken, 18 – 23 kg of potatoes and rice. Fortunately, the older children know how to help take care of the younger siblings and do the housework with their mother. Lyette said: “It is a challenge. There is no ordinary day in the Reback family. I usually drive at 160 km/h and sometimes still can’t stand it. Although many jobs just go on like that, they are very messy. Sometimes I’m so busy that I can’t even remember my name, but it’s all worth it.”
