Kim Tucci of Perth, Western Australia, joined the ranks of Danielle Busby, Marcie Dela Cruz, and Kathy Somoano as a mother whose life was radically changed the moment she welcomed quintuplets into the world. Carrying five babies to term was no easy task, but like those other moms, Kim wouldn’t trade her experiences for anything else in the world.
When Kim and her husband decided to have another child, they were instead told they’d be parents to quintuplets, a 1-in-60 million chance. In early 2016, Tucci gave birth to five beautiful babies: Ali, Penelope, Tiffany, Beatrix, and Keith. In addition to her 9-year old son from a previous marriage and two young daughters from her current one, her family count went from five to ten in an instant.
The surprise changed the Tuccis’ lives almost immediately when Kim’s story quickly gained attention over the Internet, where she gained thousands of followers over social media. The pregnancy was grueling for Kim, who detailed her entire 9-month struggle in her blog. To her readers, many of them also young mothers, she spoke openly about her back pain, her constant bathroom trips per night, and the sheer amount of calories required to healthily sustain herself and her growing five babies.
Today, the couple estimates that they’re going through almost 350 diaper changes every week, and all five babies require up to eight feedings per day. The family receives aid from volunteers and donations to care for all of their children, and they currently require two cars to fit their whole family wherever they go.
Despite this, the Tuccis couldn’t be happier. It’s all worth it even when it gets extremely stressful, and especially considering the unfortunate probability that the survival rate of quintuplet pregnancies are very low for the children. In fact, the five babies were so critical, that they were forced to remain in intensive care under constant supervision after their birth for six weeks until they were healthy enough to come home.
And while there have been times of happiness, Kim admits that there have been times when she’s had to lock herself in the bathroom for a good cry when the stress gets to be too much. But for someone with eight children all under the age of ten, however, she’s totally earned that right.
