Kelly Maink, who lives in Florida, usa, is often asked the question, "Kelly, how did you do it?!" ”
As the hostess of a family of ten, she works with children and is seen by many as a superwoman.
infertile
Since she was a child, Kelly's dream has been to be a mother and have many children. She had naively thought that as long as she grew up and got married, she would naturally have a baby.
In eighth grade, she met Fred, a senior four years older than her and attending high school, but he didn't know her at the time. Fred is the star quarterback of the school football team, the idol of the girls, and Kelly also thinks he is handsome.
A few years later, Fred became a teacher to Kelly's sister, through whom Kelly formally met Fred.
They worked out at the same gym, went to the same church to pray, and as the relationship deepened, the two began dating. Three years later, he proposed to her.
Kelly knew that Fred, who worked as a teacher in high school, didn't have much money and went out of her way to say that she didn't need a real ring.
Fred jokingly proposed to her with a diamond band lollipop, and he would give her one of these rings on every wedding anniversary in the future.
In 2004, shortly after graduating from college, Kelly and Fred were married.
After marriage, the couple worked hard to create people, and gradually, they found that pregnancy was far less easy than they thought.
After seeing countless doctors, they were told that due to their special constitution (Kelly had no menstrual cycle since the age of 15, Fred had GAOWAN cancer at the age of 21), it was almost impossible for them to conceive naturally, and embryo transfer (IVF) was the only hope, but the success rate was also low.
A doctor recommended a fertility clinic in Colorado called CCRM, and the two were hesitant, they didn't have fertility insurance, and they even borrowed money to treat infertility. "We can't afford IVF, let alone IVF in another state," Kelly told Fred.
Having said that, they made a phone consultation with ccRM's doctor. They were impressed by the doctor's professionalism. After frank communication, the doctor advised them to go over and spend the day doing the exam while discussing their next steps face-to-face.
There seems to be a force helping them, and just as they are worried about how to raise money to go to Colorado, Kelly is rewarded for her trip to Colorado for her excellent work. A few weeks later, they met with the attending physician at CCRM, who offered them a concrete plan, and for the first time in so many years, a doctor gave them confidence and hope.
Dragon and phoenix fetus
In the summer of 2010, they went to the hospital for egg retrieval and frozen 12 embryos. Because they didn't have the money, they decided to abandon the test knowing that genetic testing would help improve the success rate of pregnancy.
A few weeks later, the two embryos were transferred into Kelly's body. She waited for the results in fear, never feeling that the time was so long. Ten days later, they were informed that Kelly had tested positive for blood and that she was pregnant!
Kelly couldn't believe her ears and suspected that the lab had confused her blood with someone else's. It wasn't until six weeks later, after an ultrasound, that she felt like everything was real—twins.
During her pregnancy, Kelly experienced two episodes of subchoriohea, both of which were unsurpassed. Less than 36 weeks pregnant, she had a severe headache and, after a few days of enduring it, she had to go to the hospital. Doctors diagnosed preeclampsia, and pregnant women had too high blood pressure and needed to give birth immediately.
The baby girl who was born, Anaya, weighed only 4 pounds (3 pounds and 6 taels), and her younger brother Malachi was born with difficulty breathing and was immediately admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
Kelly was exhausted after the cesarean section, and looking at her "little miracle", she felt that everything was worth it.
Second round
On the first birthday of the dragon phoenix fetus, Kelly began to long for more children. This time, she felt a lot less stressful about getting pregnant because they already had a beautiful son and daughter.
The second round of embryo transfers went well, and based on past experience, they were ready for the arrival of two other lives.
5 weeks later, Kelly experienced terrible bleeding again, worse than the last time she felt. Finally surviving the first ultrasound, doctors confirmed there was a heartbeat, saying they might have been pregnant with twins at first and then lost one.
Kelly had hoped that the pregnancy would be able to give birth normally, but at 37 weeks, the fetus had intrauterine growth restrictions, so she had to have another caesarean section and give birth to her second son, Elijah.
Triplets
There is a saying that God would make a woman forget the pain of pregnancy and childbirth, and Kelly agrees with this. When Elijah was a year old, she had healed her scars and forgot about the pain, and began to want more babies.
There are also eight frozen embryos that, for her and her husband, are life and cannot be discarded.
A week after the third round of embryo transfers, Kelly was pregnant again. She and her husband bet on whether it would be a single or twin this time. Fred guessed they were twins, and Kelly conservatively believed it was a child.
The doctor who did the ultrasound for Kelly had always been the same person and knew their story well. After hearing about the duo's bet, she put the probe on Kelly's stomach and laughed, "Well, I've found three so far, but I want to make sure there's no more." ”
Kelly and Fred were stunned, the two embryos they implanted, one of which split, was very rare, and the two were thrilled.
Soon after, they received a call from a doctor asking if they would consider abandoning a baby. Doctors say that according to statistics, the survival rate of three babies is not high, and terminating one of them helps save the other two.
The couple categorically said they would not abandon any of their children, and the doctor understood, saying that he just wanted them to know the risks.
A 32-week ultrasound revealed another problem, the identical twins had twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), one baby pushed blood onto the other, both children could be in danger, and Kelly couldn't help but cry.
Thankfully, after further examination, the medical team said the baby was fine but needed to be delivered immediately. In this way, Kelly gave birth to two identical girls and a boy weighing 2 pounds, 3 pounds and 4 pounds, respectively, and all the babies entered the NICU.
The couple named the two girls Eliana and Avia, which means "God answers the prayer," and the boy Josiah, which means "God heals (us)."
Kelly had never experienced such exhaustion. With three toddlers on one side and three babies in nicu on the other, Kelly's home and hospital were running around, desperate for 24 hours a day. Even after a few weeks of picking up the three babies from the hospital and returning home, the busyness did not stop, and the sleepless nights continued.
twins
Caring for triplets exhausted the couple, but they were reluctant to give up the remaining frozen embryos. When the triplets were a year old, they returned to CCRM again to transfer two embryos.
This pregnancy did not happen unexpectedly. Through a caesarean section, Kelly successfully gave birth to two sons, Abram and Levi.
The two boys have a docile personality and get along well with their older siblings, while the older children seamlessly cut into the roles of big brother and big sister and become their parents' little helpers.
Kelly and Fred believe that everything is God's plan, and whenever they feel overwhelmed or stressed, God is there, telling them how to respond. They feel happy, look at their extended family, and are grateful every day.
Will the remaining embryos be transferred? Their answer is no.
School
The children grew older, and the two oldest children reached school age. Fred was the principal of a small private Christian school, and after the birth of the triplets, the school built a nursery for them, and all six of the children went to school with Fred.
It is a blessing that the children can be with their fathers and have the loving help of other teachers. But after a while, the problem still arises. As headmaster, Fred was busy, leaving early and returning late, and Kelly felt that she would never see her children and husband.
After careful consideration, they decided to step fred out of leadership and let the children homeschool.
Five years later, Kelly concluded that homeschooling was the right choice.
"In the beginning, I was really struggling and feeling stressed that the kids needed to complete a certain number of classes to reach or be higher than the level of reading and writing in the same grade. A friend suggested that I read Sarah MacKenzie's Teaching from Rest, which completely changed the way I thought about homeschooling. ”
"Life is not easy, the house is always messy, but we have created a balanced lifestyle with more freedom. If the weather is good, we can go outdoors to study. If the kids wake up late or don't feel well, we can have a slower morning. We explore and learn, and are ready to make field trips. If children are interested in a particular topic, we can learn slowly without rushing. ”
Meals and housing
How to make the meals of ten people fast and healthy, Kelly has a lot of experience. She usually plans a week in advance for what to eat every day for the next week, such as pasta on Monday, chicken meatballs on Tuesday, and stew on Wednesday, and the whole family eats together and enjoys parent-child time.
In 2020, they bought a piece of property and are ready to build the Dream Home. After selling their original house, they plan to rent for 16 months before the new house is built. Because the landlord repented halfway through, they moved twice in a year with their eight children, each time a big project.
Job
Every day was a mess, exhaustion, endocrine disorder, and Kelly had thought that her life would be like this before the children grew up.
It wasn't until she joined an online health platform and found a way to maintain a healthy lifestyle under the guidance of professionals that she became confident, happy and energetic again.
Today, she has become a health coach for the platform, mentoring those who are experiencing the same difficulties as she is.
"I'm not a sporty person, however, I always tell myself that I can do anything in 30 minutes. I put this plan into practice in my daily life, and now it has become a habit and is easy to maintain. ”
"I learned how to properly refuel (eat) and exercise, which allowed me to grow and live a perfect, energetic life rather than just barely surviving."
marriage
Kelly says the secret to a happy marriage is communication. "Even in difficult and ugly times, make things clear and remember to talk like you did on a date. Kiss, hold hands, express love, text each other, you love each other, don't let the intimacy slip away. ”
"This May, we will be celebrating our 18th wedding anniversary, which is incredible. We've been together for 21 years and have had a lot of struggles, and while it wasn't easy, it was truly the best time of my life. ”
postscript
Can be born, but also can be raised, husband and wife love, family harmony, children childhood happiness, but also did not cause a burden to the society, Kelly and his wife for the family business, undoubtedly very successful.
Many people don't understand why they have so many children and feel like they're looking for guilt. Zi Fei Fish, Anzhi Fish Joy, Kelly and Fred are willing to give their own efforts, modern technology has helped them realize their dream of building a big family, and in their hearts, there is only gratitude.
I'm Wowo, I hope you enjoy my articles and welcome your attention, comments and likes.