3 Utah sisters have 3 boys in July; trio says they didn't plan simultaneous pregnancies

LAYTON, Utah — July is full-fledged baby season for one Utah family.

Three sisters from Layton gave birth to three baby boys in the month of July, including two who were born about an hour apart, The Deseret News reports (http://bit.ly/1co677m ).

Even in baby-centric Utah, that's pretty remarkable.

The trio says they didn't plan on getting pregnant at the same time. Misti Stokes, 24, said she found out first. Her younger sister, Courtnee Hoffman, 21, later asked her if she had a pregnancy test to spare. It was positive.

The sisters told their older sister, Kristal Turner, 25, then asked if she was sad she wasn't expecting, but she said no — because she was also pregnant.

Stokes gave birth to her baby, Boston, on July 3. Hoffman had her son, Stryker, early Saturday, and Turner's baby, Mack, was born 65 minutes later in the same hospital.

At one point before the birth, Turner passed her mother in the hallways of the Circle of Life Women's Center, part of the Ogden Regional Medical Center. She was on her way to see Hoffman.

"She's like, 'What are you doing? Are you going to see Courtnee?'" Turner said. "And I'm like, 'No, I'm going to have my baby.'"

The sisters were in rooms across the hall from each other, both feeling bad they couldn't be with the other to provide support. Nurses helped by keeping each up-to-date on the other's contractions and the babies' heart rates.

"We couldn't go really into each other's room very much, but we would send pictures back and forth and text and ask how each other is doing," Hoffman told the Deseret News.

Their mother was bouncing back and forth between the rooms as each went through the stages of labor, said Dr. Darren Housel, who delivered both babies.

The fact that both babies came naturally, rather than being induced, made it even more remarkable, he said. It was something he hadn't seen before in his 20 years as a doctor.

"We are all kind of baffled that such a coincidental thing would occur," Housel said. "Over 5,000 babies, I can safely say that I've never delivered sisters on the same day. It was cool, a fun experience to be part of."

The three sisters say their bond is now stronger than ever.

"It's been fun to go through it together," Hoffman said.

The three baby cousins were together for the first time Tuesday.

"I really think that there's a reason why all three are born together," Turner said. "They are going to have a great support system for each other."

Utah had the highest birth rate in the country in 2009, U.S. Census data shows. Utah had 19.4 births per 1,000 people. The 3-year-old data is the latest available comparing state's birth rates.