East County family does double take

BRADENTON — Bonnie Keyworth sits in a worn recliner, a newborn folded into a blanket in the crook of her arm, nursing a bottle. Two toddlers wriggle standing at her feet, grasping Bonnie’s knees as she takes turns spooning shell-shaped macaroni and cheese into their mouths. 

Bonnie just smiles as her twin sons, Michael and Malachi, now 13 months, lobby for the next bite.

In a nearby crib, her other newborn sleeps.

“My great-grandmother was a twin and she had somewhere around 18 kids, including two sets of twins — two boys and a boy and a girl, like me,” Bonnie says. “There haven’t been any other sets in my family until now.” 

Keyworth, a lifelong member of Christian Retreat’s Family Church and a graduate of Lakewood Ranch High School, delivered her second set of twins Aug. 16, just more than a year after her first set was born. 

Her husband, Corey, picks up the sleeping infant, Dominick, born by cesarian section just a minute after his sister, Kaitlynn.

The Keyworths seem at ease despite the fact they now have four children under age 2. 

“It’s exhausting, but an absolutely amazing job,” Bonnie says.

Bonnie and Corey, 28 and 29, respectively, had Michael and Malachi before they’d even been married a year. Although they didn’t expect to have children so quickly, they had handled the news well. When they went for their ultrasound and learned they’d have their first set of twins, Bonnie couldn’t stop giggling all day, while Corey murmured incoherently from the shock and excitement. 

Once the boys were born July 3, 2014, they adjusted quickly, coordinating their work schedules at the State Road 64 Walmart to trade off care for the infants at the clock-in area as Bonnie ended her shift and Corey started his.

They learned Bonnie was pregnant again, just a few months after the boys were born. At their initial doctor’s appointment, Bonnie asked the nurse to check for a second heartbeat because they already had twins, but the nurse was confident there was only one.

“If we were to have more children, it might be triplets, I tease... Corey would have been happy with one, maybe two, but I’ve always wanted that big, beautiful family.”– Bonnie Keyworth

And yet when the couple went back for their ultrasound around 22 weeks of pregnancy, they learned Bonnie’s hunch had been correct.

“We found out what we were having the same day we found out we were having twins,” Bonnie says. “I wasn’t surprised. It just felt right. It was a wonderful feeling.”

Corey again was dumbfounded, but excited, in particular, to have a little girl. He already plans to take her to Disney World on her 10th birthday and have her dressed up like a princess. 

The night Bonnie went into labor, Corey was at work. She texted him around 7:30 p.m.and coordinated for her brother, Ryan Wikner, who lives at Christian Retreat, to stay and watch Michael and Malachi. When Corey arrived home after 10 p.m., they headed to the hospital for an early morning delivery. The babies were born at 1:12 a.m. and 1:13 a.m.

“The boys were very upset when we first came home. They were crying more, fussy and clingy,” Bonnie says. "It’s a work in progress. They like to look at them.”

Corey adds: “Now, they’re getting used to it.”

And so are Bonnie and Corey.

Although Bonnie wanted to do everything herself with the boys, this time around she’s accepting help without hesitation. Friends and fellow members of Christian Retreat’s Family Church have stopped by daily with meals and to help with household chores. They even raised money to purchase a minivan for the couple.

“The church has really stepped up and is really showing its family side,” Bonnie says. “Everybody wants to help.”

Corey has taken a few weeks off work to help keep the toddlers busy while Bonnie focuses on the newborns. But, after Corey goes back, Bonnie will assume care for all four for at least the next year. Daycare for four children is not financially feasible, she says.

“I wanted to stay home with the boys, but finances were not stable enough,” Bonnie says, adding she’s not afraid of the challenge ahead. 

She already loves hearing the older boys giggle and play together all day long.

Friends already are telling the Keyworths not to have any more children, but Bonnie shrugs.

“If we were to have more children, it might be triplets, I tease” she says. “We’ll wait until the boys are school-age to make that decision. Corey would have been happy with one, maybe two, but I’ve always wanted that big, beautiful family.”

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].