Motherhood is a remarkable feat. One that people often forget is not as easy for some women as it is for others. Such was the case for Houston-native, Lauren Perkins.
Lauren always knew she wanted to be a mother. When she and her husband David began trying to conceive, however, they tried and failed many times over the course of a year and started to lose hope. Fertility treatments were expensive, but it seemed like the last resort.
Before going all in on treatments, they needed to get away…
A Trip to Clear The Stress
Before they began to look into treatments, however, the couple took a trip to Nicaragua to take a break with some friends, and relieve some stress, before they put all their energy and money into becoming parents. Nicaragua, however, had other plans for them…
Heading Abroad
Lauren and David traveled to Nicaragua with a group of friends to relax before beginning their treatments. They talked to their friends about their fertility struggles and one of them, a priest, told them, “Someone up there has big plans for you. I don’t know what, but it will be big.†It was a nice sentiment, but at the time, Lauren had no idea what he meant…
Beginning Treatments
After the trip, they returned home to Texas. Lauren hadn’t thought much about what the Priest had told her, after all, she knew that overthinking wouldn’t help her get pregnant. She and David discussed options for fertility treatments and decided that they wanted to try artificial insemination. Lauren feared, though, that it would not work…
Pregnant!
The cards fell in their favor, though, and Lauren was pregnant! In her first check, the nurses told her that her HCG levels were very high, indicating a strong possibility for multiples. Lauren and David were very excited about the possibility of having twins, even triplets! But when the ultrasound came, that was not the case…
The Staggering News
When the doctor looked at the ultrasound, he was speechless. He managed to squeeze out the following five words: “I count five in there.”
Lauren and David were in shock. FIVE BABIES?! But, how?
And just when they thought the most shocking news was revealed, their doctor spoke again. “Wait a minute… I just found a sixth baby…”
No Words
They were speechless. Six babies? That couldn’t be right. But when the doctor insisted that this count was correct, Lauren and David had to make a difficult decision. They either had to reduce the number of babies to ensure a healthier outcome, or they could keep them all and risk a number of dangerous complications…
A Fighting Chance
After they mulled it over for a few days, they decided to give all six babies a chance. Their doctors told them they would do everything in their power to keep all of them healthy and that they would do their ultimate best to avoid any birth complications. But they couldn’t possibly have been prepared for this…
Go Time
On the morning of April 23, 2012, Lauren arrived at the hospital. Although she was only 30 weeks along, with multiples, especially sextuplets, mothers rarely carry to term. The hospital had staffed a team of 35 doctors and nurses to deliver the babies.
“I was nervous and excited all at once. It was starting to sink in that this was for real—I was going to have 6 babies,” Lauren said.
Then, it was time to push…
Just Four Minutes
It took just four minutes for all six of the babies to be delivered, as they were quite tiny. Andrew, Allison, Benjamin, Caroline, Leah, and Levi all weighed in between 1 and 2 pounds. As each baby appeared, the nurse assigned to the baby rolled them by Lauren on their way to the NICU, giving the new mother a chance to see her babies. But there was a problem…
Health Concerns
The babies were not healthy enough to be with their parents immediately. It would be a few days before they even got to hold their newborns. After four days, it was deemed that Allison was stable enough for Lauren and David to hold her, and even though she was hooked up to many wires and tubes, the new parents couldn’t have been happier. But the road ahead was not easy…
Holding Little Allison
“…that moment, when I got to hold my baby, was when I became a mother… of sextuplets,” Lauren said.
The first few weeks were not easy, however. At ten weeks premature, the babies were at risk for many health issues and disabilities, and even worse, death…
A Few Weeks Later
After many weeks in the neonatal unit, Lauren and David finally held each of their little miracles. Soon after, five of the six babies were released from the hospital. Leah, the smallest of the crew, needed to stay behind, as she had some health concerns due to her placement in the womb…
Buried Below
Leah didn’t have the easiest time in utero.
“She was literally buried under everybody else in the womb, so she didn’t get the right nutritional flow. Her brain was not fully developed,” Lauren said.Â
She and David grew increasingly worried about her chance of survival…
It Takes a Village
When the five came home from the hospital, Lauren and David were blessed with an abundance of support from family, friends, and total strangers. They received care packages and helping hands each and every day, which helped them in their lowest and hardest of days. Lauren also praised the hospital staff that took care of her and the babies every step of the way…
Eternally Grateful
“My doctor was the best and I’m forever grateful to him for the level of care I received,” Lauren says. “Also, the NICU staff who put in hours upon hours getting our children ready to come home and teaching us the ins and outs of preemie care. Â So many of these people have a special place in our hearts and family.”
Lauren and David had the family they always wanted, but this was only just the beginning…
Balancing Act
Having six babies at home was no easy feat. Lauren and David learned quickly that six babies were far different than one. Sleep was a thing of the past, a distant memory, and they had to get creative sometimes when it came to feeding and changing.
“I call it semi-controlled chaos,” Lauren said. David, on the other hand, had a harder time…
Party of Eight
“We had to get very scheduled and very structured and organized, especially in the first year,” he said. There was a huge adjustment period for these new parents, and every day is an adventure in and of itself. After all, taking care of sextuplets is no easy feat.Â
What they look like now will shock you…
The Perkins Pack
Recently, Andrew Noah, Benjamin Luke, Caroline Grace, Leah Michelle, Allison Kate, and Levi Thomas celebrated their 6th birthday. Just look at those happy little faces! Each of them has come such a long way and their parents are true saints to be able to tackle a six-year-old gang like this. Just look at these shots from their lives so far…
Gangs All Here
The boys and two of the girls are perfectly healthy today. Leah, on the other hand, has had things a bit tougher. Because her brain had not fully developed prior to birth, she will probably need to be cared for by her parents for the majority of her life. Lauren says, “She goes to general school for children with disabilities. But she always gives 100 percent and laughs all the time. She is our sunshine!” Lauren says.Â
They even take family trips now…
The Great Outdoors
Although it’s not exactly a relaxing island vacation, it’s the little things, like sharing a picnic in the woods, that bring the Perkins family together. Lauren and David are quite a team—just look at how precious this next shot is…
Happily Ever After
An incredible story, an incredible journey, and an incredible family—we wish them all the best and look forward to seeing more from this amazing family. If you want to see more of the Perkins pack, check out Lauren’s blog: http://perkins6pack.blogspot.com/.