A COUPLE who struggled for two years to have their first 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 were stunned to discover they were expecting quintuplets the second time around.
Adam and Danielle Busby, from Houston, America, couldn’t believe their eyes at the first scan when the ultrasound revealed five little bundles of joy.
Adam and Danielle Busby struggled for two years to have their first 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 – but then conceived quintupletsCredit: TLC
Adam, 34, said: “When I saw five babies on the screen, I started shaking and dropped my coffee.”
Danielle, 33, added: “I freaked out and kept saying, ‘Five? Five babies?’
“I actually laughed. It took a few days to really hit me, and for the fear to come through.
“But it was also so incredible. We are the parents who struggled for two years to have their first 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥, and now we’re having five in one go!
“I just thought, ‘This is a miracle and a challenge, and we’re going to have to rise to it.’”
Just four years earlier the couple, who met as teenagers while working at Target supermarket in 2003, were concerned they would never be able to have 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren after being declared infertile while trying to conceive daughter Blayke.
They’d undergone intrauterine insemination (IUI) – a process similar to IVF which involves the woman being given fertility drugs before the man’s sperm is injected into her uterus.
After successfully having Blayke, now five, they decided to give the process another shot.
They had been warned multiple 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡s was a possibility, but they never dreamed they would end up expecting FIVE babies.
And it’s little wonder, given the odds are 41 million to one.
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Prior to giving 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡, Danielle embarked on a serious eating regime, consuming 4,500 calories a day to ensure she got enough nutrients.
She recalled: “I was so huge! Even my back got fat.”
Naturally, multiple pregnancies pose a serious risk to both mums and babies.
When Danielle was 28 weeks gone and the fetuses began jostling for space, the medical team decided to deliver the girls.
Adam was by Danielle’s side as the surgeons performed a cesarean section, and Hazel, Ava, Parker, Olivia and Riley were safely delivered.
All were healthy, but weighed under two pounds.
Adam said: “It was amazing. To hear a 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 that tiny crying was incredible.
“You could tell they hadn’t finished growing, their skin was so thin.”
The little girls all had heart murmurs and were required to stay in special care for three months until they were big enough to sleep in an open crib and maintain their own temperatures.
When they finally came home, that was when the hard work really began.
To cope with their new brood, the couple embarked on a military regime, lining up five booster seats in the front room and bulk buying nappies, 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 formula and laundry powder.
Adam said: “It was like a nursery had exploded in our house.”
They fed the girls 60 bottles of milk and were changing up to 40 nappies a day.
Luckily Danielle’s sister Ashley popped over to do the 2am feed, and her mum helped out when she could.
Adam also took time out from his job in the oil industry, but the couple struggled.
He recalled: “It was exhausting. Days and nights just ran together.
“We would have a 45-minute break after feeding, changing and cleaning bottles, and then we’d have to wake them up again.
“It seemed like it never ended. I was delighted to get away to work.”
