The little ones just keep on coming at one Illinois hospital!
Eight staff members at Anderson Hospital’s Pavilion for Women in Maryville, Illinois, have given birth within five months of one another –– from July to December. Seven obstetrics nurses and one obstetrics tech make up the group now known as the “Elite 8.”
“The Pavilion for Women had their own baby boom going……..and it exploded!!!!” Pavilion officials wrote in a Facebook post alongside a photo of the moms and babies earlier this month. “We are loving all of our babies! The Elite 8 are here and ready to rule the world!!!!!!!!”
The close-knit coworkers were pleasantly surprised when Susan Lentz, 40, revealed she was 18 weeks pregnant. But were shocked when Stavania, Rebecca Eggering, 32, Ashley and Sara Grotefendt, 30, all revealed around the same time that they were also expecting little ones.
“At first it was like, ‘Oh wow, this is a great group of friends and we’re all pregnant together,’ ” Grotefendt, who welcomed her son Holden Grotefendt on Oct. 24, tells PEOPLE. “Then when it went to eight, we were like, ‘Holy cow!’ It was something awesome that we bonded over.”
Lentz, who was the first to announce her pregnancy, gave birth to Anna Grace Singleterry on July 25 –– the first in a long line of babies to grace the hospital.
“It was super exciting because we knew there were so many more to come,” Lentz tells PEOPLE. “You just couldn’t wait for them all to slowly appear over the course of a couple months.”
Photos showed the moms all standing together, holding their babies with smiles. Some shots even showed the infants wearing “Elite 8” onesies. The unexpected baby boom has spread joy around the hospital.
“It’s been a lot of fun. When we took the pictures, that was the first time all of us were together since having the babies. It was fun to let all the babies sit together and play with each other,” Grotefendt says.
We’ve had play dates, we’ve met for lunch, It’s so much fun. We’re all going through the same thing. We all related over the same things, like when the baby first smiles or giggles at you.”
The journey to motherhood was extra special for Michele Embick, 31, who had been trying to get pregnant. The last of the eight to give birth, Embick welcomed daughter Charlotte Rose Embick on Dec. 19.
“We were trying for a while to get pregnant. When I found out about a couple of the girls before I officially knew I was pregnant. So just seeing them get pregnant gave me hope that it would happen for us,” Embick tells PEOPLE.
“So when I finally got that positive pregnancy test I was just over the moon and it made it even more special that I get to share it with so many other people.”
She adds: “They’re like a family to me. So it’s like sharing my pregnancy with seven of my sisters.”
Eggering welcomed her first baby, Daniel John Eggering, on Nov. 12. Weeks later, 36-year-old Gwen Litteken gave birth to Charlotte Rose Litteken on Nov. 28. Stavania gave birth in October and Britaney in September.