Parenthood is a whirlwind of joy, sleepless nights, and endless bottles, but for one couple, the journey took an extraordinary turn when they welcomed not one, not two, but seven babies into their lives. Chad and Amy Kempel, aged 36 and 34, residents of Mountain View, California, initially planned to expand their family by just one more child. Little did they know that their wish for “just one more” would result in the arrival of quintuplets.
The Kempel family now proudly comprises Sarah, three years old, Avery, one year old, and the quintuplets: Lincoln, Noelle, Grayson, Preston, and Gabriella, all just four months old.
The quintuplets made their grand entrance into the world on January 11, arriving prematurely at 27 weeks and three days into Amy’s pregnancy via caesarean section. This incredible journey began with the couple’s decision to have another child after tragically losing their twins, Marshall and Spencer, at 22 weeks in May 2013.
“It is craziness,” Chad laughed. “We are still getting used to the idea that people are so interested in the babies. Every day we ask, ‘Is this real?'” The couple, who have converted their master bedroom into a nursery for the quintuplets, goes through a staggering 80 diapers a day, equivalent to 2,480 diapers each month.
Additionally, Chad and Amy prepare 40 bottles a day and manage to catch just three to five hours of sleep each night. “Laundry never stops because they spit up on their clothes,” explained Chad. “Sleep is currently improving. Two weeks ago, we got nothing. Now we get about five hours. I would never give them back, but if we’d been asked if we wanted five kids, I would say no way. But now I can’t imagine anything else.”
Amy, who underwent intrauterine insemination (IUI), a fertility treatment involving the placement of sperm inside a woman’s uterus to facilitate fertilization, for all her pregnancies, found out she was expecting in July of the previous year. It was when she was seven weeks pregnant, at the end of August, that she learned she was carrying quintuplets.
“I don’t ovulate on my own,” explained Amy. “I took drugs to overstimulate my ovaries and produce eggs. But the procedure is not supposed to produce that many eggs. We were told there was a possibility we could end up with more babies, but we’ve done the [fertility] procedure 20-plus times and they have told us that every time. We thought, ‘We’ll probably just get the one.'” However, in August, while having an ultrasound, the couple discovered they were having five babies.
Chad recalled, “The doctor’s mouth just dropped open. He thought initially there were four, and then he went back and counted five.” “Amy was smiling for the first sac and the second. The third one she started crying… and the fourth she was really crying.”
The five babies were born in January when Amy was 27 weeks pregnant, weighing between 2 pounds and 2 pounds 14 ounces, and they were reasonably healthy. They spent nearly three months in the hospital to ensure they could breathe on their own and feed properly.
Now back home, the family shares rooms as they adjust to their new reality. The Kempels are overjoyed with their family’s expansion, and despite the challenges, they wouldn’t change a thing. Each baby has its unique personality, and the family embraces the love, laughter, and chaos that comes with having such a large and beautiful family.
The journey from a family of three to a family of eight is nothing short of miraculous. Chad and Amy Kempel’s story is a testament to the incredible power of love, resilience, and the beauty of life’s unexpected blessings.
