By Lisa Bose McDermott
TEXARKANA, Texas, June 18 (Reuters) - Baby by baby, week by week, the parents of 3-month-old quintuplets are bringing their children out of a Dallas hospital, preparing for the day when the whole family will be home 160 miles away.
Parents Michelle and Steven Seals, in one of the first interviews they have given since they addressed the media a few days after the children were born to much fanfare at Dallas' Baylor University Medical Center on March 18, said two of the babies have been released from the hospital.
"I really don't know what to expect. It's going to be very overwhelming," Michelle, an elementary school teacher, said late Tuesday. Their father Steven is a civilian employee at the Red River Army Depot.
The couple, who also have a 2-year-old son, Brady, used fertility drugs after Michelle had several miscarriages. The "Fab Five" - Mia Danielle, Tessa Suzanne, Brant Lee, Gracie Lou and Rayleigh Ann - were the first quintuplets to be born at the hospital, at 29 weeks through a cesarean section.
About two dozen medical staff helped in the birth of the babies, who tipped the scales at weights from two pounds and seven ounces (1,105 grams) to three pounds and six ounces (1,531 grams).
The babies were placed in neonatal intensive care and have been making steady progress.
The couple brought Tessa to their temporary home, at a friend's house in a Dallas suburb, on June 16. Brant, the only baby boy, was released on June 6. The three other girls will be released weekly, depending on their health.
When all five are discharged, the family will take a 3-hour drive to Maud, an east Texas town of about 1,000 people that is planning a baby shower to welcome them home.
The Seals are converting the office of their 3-bedroom home into a bedroom. They are also shopping for a 12-seater van because neither their pickup truck nor SUV can hold all the children at once.
The quintuplets will be taking a break from the public's glare once they get home.
"It's so hard because you want to show your baby off and it will be a fun time and everyone wants to see them but their health is so important," Michelle said.
(Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Richard Chang)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
