JEFFERSONVILLE —
Christy Kessinger knew something was wrong. She and her husband, 29-year-old Bill Clark, had decided to try for one more child to add to their family, which already had three children, including one with Down syndrome.
She had been using an intrauterine device to prevent pregnancy and when she took it out, she went on some herbal medicines and a very low dose of hormones to get her system back on track.
One week later, she was constantly throwing up.
“I knew something was wrong and I told the doctor I had to be having 17 babies,” the 29-year-old said with a laugh.
THE COUNT
So, she went in for an ultrasound, where the doctors told her she was pregnant with twins, but there were two eggs left that would likely disintegrate. Two weeks later at a follow-up, it was triplets, with two eggs left.
At eight weeks pregnant, she found out she was having quadruplets, with one egg left.
Then, at 10 week, doctors said they found five heartbeats and no extra eggs — that they could see.
“When they said twins, we were like oh gosh! That’s two more,” Kessinger said. “[Then triplets] we said oh my goodness! We were just stunned. [After hearing there were five] we’re going oh no!”
“Where are we going to put them?” Clark said was his first thought.
FINDING A WAY
The family lives in a three-bedroom ranch home in Clark County. Their biggest vehicle is a minivan that seats seven.
However, with five children on the way, Kessinger said now isn’t the time to buy a new home or car, since she decided to stay at home after having her youngest, who has Down syndrome, leaving Clark, who works in information technology, as the sole provider.
Now, Kessinger is 20 weeks pregnant with four girls and a boy, with a due date of Oct. 26. However, they are cautiously optimistic, knowing that this journey isn’t going to be an easy one — now or after the births.
In an attempt to help lower the risk, Kessinger said at one point doctors asked her to consider reducing her pregnancy to twins. But she said that was just something she could not do, after having lost a child during pregnancy between her second and third child. Reducing the pregnancy could also have put the remaining two at risk for miscarriage, she added.
“We didn’t feel like we had an option,” she explained.
Rubbing on her stomach, Kessinger said she is the same size now as she was in the last month of her previous pregnancy. She said she tries to avoid walking long distances by taking a wheelchair and does have to spend as much time as she can on bed rest. Kessinger, who has gained more than 30 pounds so far, said doctors want her to gain between 80 and 100 pounds by end of term.
BRINGING TV TO REALITY
Multiples have brought many people to the spotlight, including Nadya Suleman, or Octomom.
“People are like, ‘Oh, you’re Octomom,’ and I get upset,” Kessinger said, adding that Suleman tried to conceive multiples, while she didn’t.
Kessinger does admit to liking some famous families of multiples or many children, including TLC’s “Jon and Kate Plus 8” and “19 Kids and Counting.” However, Kessinger said she knows her life won’t mirror what she sees on TV.
“It’s so much different, because they have so much help,” she said. “It’s just us.”
Clark said doctors have prepared them for the amount of time it will take with five babies, saying feeding them all will take 21⁄2 to 3 hours, with them having to eat every 3 hours.
He said family and neighbors may be able to help the duo out some to give them some breaks.
MOVING FORWARD
Meanwhile, Kessinger and Clark are working on stocking up on five of everything and are hitting up yard sales when they can to score deals.
“We’re scared more than we are excited knowing we don’t know if we can do it,” Kessinger said. “I’m taking it as a week-by-week thing. If I think too far in advance, I get overwhelmed.”
She’s also trying to think of some names and has already come up with a technique to tell the children apart — toenail polish.
Though there are some things the two don’t know for sure just yet, there is one that Kessinger has no doubt on.
“I’m definitely finished after this,” she exclaimed.
