Long Island Couple Forms a Family of 12 in 15 Years of Marriage

A couple who live on Long Island just had their tenth baby on July 7. However, when they first got married, they didn’t want any children. It didn’t take long for them to change their minds.

Dawn and Joey Hernandez, who have been married for 15 years, now form a family of 12. All their children were delivered by the same physician, Dr. Joseph Livoti, at the same hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital.

They now have five boys and five girls in the family: 15-year-old Joseph, 12-year-old Rebecca, 10-year-old Nicholas, 9-year-old Madison, 8-year-old Julianna, 7-year-old Alex, 5-year-old Zoey, 4-year-old Noah, 2-year-old Hunter, and the newest addition: Savannah Lee.

Both parents think taking care of a lot of kids is easier than it looks, even though there is more coordination involved in their daily lives.

Dawn thinks it is easy because she has a supportive husband, and Joey also said that they are fortunate to have a lot of support from friends.

Joey, who is 52-years-old, runs his own fine art installation business. He was brought up in foster care, and he enjoys being around kids in a big family.

Dawn is a professor of nursing at Adelphi University, and is also pursuing a doctorate degree. She wants her kids to know that they can still go to school, have a career, and nice life in a big family. The couple has already started a college savings account for each child, including the youngest Savannah.

And this family could get even bigger—the couple hasn’t ruled out having more kids.