A couple in Laurel, Mississippi, got the shock of a lifetime when they found out they are expecting quintuplets.

Quintuplets occur in roughly one in 60 million births, according to Dr. Rachael Morris, an associate professor of maternal fetal medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

Ashley and Tyler Meyers already have two toddlers; soon they will have seven under age 3.

In January, Ashley Meyers was picking up cough syrup when she realized her period was a day late. The mom of daughters Paisleigh, 3, and Westlynn, 2, decided to throw a pregnancy test into her cart just to be safe, because some medications are harmful when taken during pregnancy.

“Not only was the test positive, the line was darker than I’ve ever seen in my life,” Ashley tells TODAY.com.

Ashley, 26, a phlebotomist, and her husband Tyler, 28, a mechanic, had just moved into a new home and were not trying for another child.

Her first look at the babies was a non-diagnostic ultrasound, also known as a “keepsake ultrasound,” at a non-medical facility.

Preliminary blood work had indicted they might have twins, so neither were shocked when two sacs appeared on the screen.

“My first thought was ‘OK. We can handle this,’” Ashley says, noting that Paisleigh and Westlynn are just 16 months apart.

Two weeks later, Ashley’s OB-GYN introduced a major plot twist. The Meyers weren’t having twins — they were having quintuplets, two boys and three girls. Suddenly, “We can handle this” turned to sheer panic.

“I was in complete shock,” Meyers says. “I don’t think my husband and I talked to people for two weeks. We just went silent. Five is a lot of babies.”

“I was like, ‘How are we going to do this?’” Tyler, 28, tells TODAY.com. “But you just need to leave it up to God. He is not going to put you in a situation that you can’t handle.”

Quintuplets occur in roughly one in 60 million births, according to Dr. Rachael Morris, an associate professor of maternal fetal medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

Ashley is now 25 weeks along in her pregnancy and on bed rest at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson until she gives birth. Haylee and Shawn Ladner welcomed quintuplets at the same hospital in 2023. Tyler says the Ladners have been giving them “good pointers on what to expect.”

“My doctors are hoping we’ll make it to 34 weeks, because the longer they’re in, the better,” Meyers shares. “I’ve been coloring and watching some TV and catching up on all the stuff I haven’t been able to do because I worked full-time before this.”

Tyler, who is home holding down the fort, says he has a “whole new respect” for his wife.

“Taking care of little kids after a long day at work is harder than I thought it would be!” he says.

The Meyers family, who have a GoFundMe to help with medical expenses and baby essentials, have been inundated with support.

“I love our community,” Ashley says. “Complete strangers have blessed us with kindness. People have to come to help clean and wash dishes and get the rooms ready. When big stuff happens, we rally around each other. When everyone’s got your back it doesn’t feel so scary.”

Ashley also has the support of moms in the higher-order multiples community. Here is some of the advice they shared with TODAY:

• “To Ashley and any mom expecting multiples, my number one advice is to make the best of the experience — especially the NICU journey, which is inevitable and often challenging when you have higher-order multiples. Schedule photoshoots, read them books, allow visitors, hold them as much as possible and make it a point to be as present and involved with their care as possible” Raquel Tolver (mom of 1-year-old quadruplets.)

• “Believe in yourself. There will be days it feels too hard or you doubt if you can do this, but you were made for this” Ashley Crandell (mom of 2-year-old quadruplets.)

• “Soak every second in —the highs and the lows — because while it is so unique and very crazy, it is your journey and it goes by so fast” Hanna Castle (mom of 2-year-old quadruplets)

• “Best advice I can give is, “Don’t lose yourself, so that you can be the best for your babies. The second thing is find a system and organization that works for you and your babies and don’t be ashamed to take all the help you can get.” Heather Langley (mom of 3-year-old quintuplets.)

This article was originally published on TODAY.com

JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – The Mississippi State Board of Education (SBE) awarded two school districts nearly $1.5 million in grants. According to officials, the grants will create Blended Pre-K programs and improve access for pre-K students with disabilities to be included in high-quality early childhood programs in the same classrooms with their non-disabled peers.

The Lamar County School District (LCSD) and the Simpson County School District (SCSD) were awarded the grants after a competitive selection process. The Preschool Development Grant Birth to Five (PDG-B5) is covered by new federal funds to the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE). The grant period begins July 1, 2024, and ends June 30, 2027. 

With the funds, LCSD will serve 20 children in one new classroom and SCSD will serve 60 children in three new classrooms. The grant award will be $150,000 per classroom for the first year for program setup with $110,000 per classroom in funds to be awarded each year for year two and year three for support of continued implementation.

According to officials, the Blended Pre-K program utilizes a co-teaching model of a general education teacher and special education teacher in one classroom.

Summer leagues have been a college baseball institution for many decades, but college softball players did not have that same opportunity to keep working at their craft and playing the game they love after the school season ends until 2020, with the founding of the Florida Gulf Coast League.

Four years later, the FGCL is still going strong, and other leagues have been established in more recent years. Mississippi State’s Kylee Edwards and Kiarra Sells are taking advantage of those opportunities this summer, with Edwards playing for the FGCL’s Bradenton Slice and Sells joining the Texas Ninebands of the Lone Star State Collegiate League.

Edwards enjoyed a strong freshman year as the Bulldogs’ starting shortstop, batting .269 with eight doubles, five home runs and 23 runs batted in. She also struck out just 11 times in 134 at-bats, a 7.1 percent strikeout rate, although she did close the season without a hit in her last 10 at-bats in the conference and NCAA tournaments.

Through four games in Florida, Edwards is just 2-for-14 at the plate, but has a homer and a pair of RBI as well as a stolen base and three runs scored.

“I’m super excited to get back to work, improve my game and play with some of the best collegiate girls,” Edwards said in a news release.

Sells and the Ninebands have won their first five games of the season, with the rising junior utility player homering twice and driving in five runs along the way. Sells has not started a game in her two years with MSU but has been one of the Bulldogs’ most-used bench players, entering 33 games in 2024 as a pinch-runner, pinch-hitter or defensive replacement. She is yet to record her first hit in the maroon and white but scored 13 runs this past season.

Both leagues will run until mid-July, with games streaming exclusively on AthletesGoLive.com.

MSU