Missouri sheriff’s office welcomes 17 babies of deputies in same year

Seventeen Missouri sheriff’s deputies welcomed babies into the world in the same year. 

The new dads belonged to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office in Missouri. 

"It’s really special," Capt. Andy Sides told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. His second child was born six months ago. "Holy cow."

The sheriff’s office posted a video on Facebook of the fathers holding their newborns. 

"This story’s being shared all over the world. It turns out, people love cute babies," the video description said. "We thought we'd share some behind-the-scenes footage of our #JeffCoBabyBoom photo shoot."

"Oh my goodness!" Sides said to his 6-month-old son, adding that fatherhood suits him, according to the Post-Dispatch. 

"I love it, with both of our boys and my wife," Sides told the paper. "I wouldn’t trade it for the world. It makes your bad days good when you come home."

A joke has been going around the sheriff’s department that newborns are "Prop P babies," the Post-Dispatch reported. Proposition P, a property tax increase that county voters passed in April 2018, supplied more resources, including raises, for the sheriff’s office, the report said. 

"I think it’s more than a coincidence," said Sgt. Matt Moore, whose baby Luca was born this year. "It certainly gives you a lot more flexibility in starting a family if you’ve got more income. Kids aren’t getting any cheaper these days."

This story was reported from Los Angeles.