The Bayh Babies: That Time The First Lady Had Twins and Was Interviewed Right Away

INDIANAPOLIS–Twenty five years ago, on Nov. 8, 1995, then-Governor Evan Bayh and his wife Susan had twins. The next day they invited Hoosiers to be a part of the experience. Reporters were allowed into the hospital room.

The babies were named Nick and Beau and were born with a C-section. Mrs. Bayh, who died Friday of brain cancer, was very alive then, with the hope that comes with newborn babies.

LISTEN: Hospital time with the Bayhs

“Finally after about 26 hours the doctor told us it was better to go another way,” said Mrs. Bayh, describing her labor. “It was better for the babies. So, we decided that was the time to have them by surgery.”

“Nick’s very easy going. He’s the bigger of the two. He’s got big feet, after his mother,” said Susan. Evan Bayh countered, “He’s got a gentle disposition, after his mother.” Both said they felt Beau had a Type “A” personality.

“Since we decided that I’m gonna try to nurse them, it’s gonna be a pretty much full-time job for quite a while, being that there are two of them.”

Susan described the prayer in the delivery room, after the babies were born, thanking God for their “gifts”. She said she was proud of her husband for his acknowledgment to reporters that he couldn’t completely sympathize with his wife.

“I’d gone through 26 hours of labor and he said that no man really understood that, and I said, yes! Finally somebody recognizes that.”

Part of her legacy, though she was an attorney and businesswoman and beloved first lady, was as a mother to those boys.

“I just want them to do whatever they want to do with their lives,” she said. “I want us to make sure we realize each one is a unique individual and will decide what their path is and want them to be the best at whatever they choose.”