A resident of the United States wanted to have another child, but fate had other plans. Mom didn’t realize when she came in for the ultrasound that she would soon need three nannies, four bedrooms, a 12-seater van, a quarter of the salary for one trip to the supermarket, and 105 candles for a cake on the occasion of the baby’s coming of age.
American Grace Collins said that 24 years ago, her mother Bridget and father William decided to become parents for the second time. They had a three-year-old son, Liam, who was happy to have a brother or sister. The woman could not get pregnant the first time, so she turned to a doctor for help.
My mom had a hard time getting pregnant so she went through hormone therapy to increase her chances,” Grace said. – She did not IVF, but IUI – this is a different type of artificial insemination. It was a really lucky day, because my four brothers and sisters and I were conceived at that moment. True, this is definitely not what their parents expected.
Yes, as a result of the procedure on September 9, 1996, Grace, her brothers Paddy and Aidan, as well as sisters Betsy and Claire were born – quintuplets. As Grace admits, growing up in a family with six children is quite difficult, but she liked it.
It was restless, although we children did not notice it either. It was common for us, but my poor mother had to watch six of them at once. If there was any emergency, she had to load everyone into the car to go on business. She drove a huge 12-passenger van,” says Grace.
No less severe were the usual children’s skirmishes in the family. If two children can torment each other and disperse, then in the case of Grace, the children went wall to wall – three against three, two against four or five against one. According to the girl, it could be pretty tough.
As a result, the mother had to turn to the nanny for help, and then to the second and third. According to Grace, they could have three nurses at the same time to handle the entire mob.
Mom likes to tell everyone that we’re quintuplets, although we’re embarrassed, she’s been running for hours trying to take us all to our sports clubs, concerts and meetings. I think she deserves the right to brag.
Raising six children on one paycheck meant that the Collins family was often short on money. Mom often went to the grocery store, sometimes several times a week, especially when the children grew older and began to sweep everything in sight.
It was normal for Bridget to leave $200 at the supermarket at one time.
Eating out was also unusual. The family visited cafes and restaurants only on special occasions. For a company of eight people, this is still expensive, but now, according to her daughter, the children themselves pay for their mother.
She’s definitely been lucky – she’s gone through the hard part and now she has a lot of people to take care of her,” Grace said.
As for personal life, this is also quite difficult: not everyone will be able to come to a new family, where you have to get along with five brothers and sisters of your half. According to Grace, she understands how difficult it will be for a new person, adding that now only her older brother Liam and her sister Betsy are in a relationship.
In high school, I didn’t really go out on dates. My brothers and sisters knew all the children in parallel, I could not hide a boyfriend from them. Now I’m still alone and I’m no longer sure that my relatives are to blame,” Grace said.
According to Grace, she couldn’t date anyone at school because of her siblings.
Now all the brothers and sisters live in different cities and meet as a group only three or four times a year, but they regularly see each other in twos or threes. Grace has no idea what it’s like not to be part of the quintuplets. According to the girl, this has its own bonuses.
We have always drawn more attention to ourselves than most children. On our birthdays they talked about us