A Pennsylvanian couple now has a total of nine children after adopting four siblings and welcoming quadruplets about a year later.
Maxine and Jake Young already had a biological son named Henry when they adopted four siblings they had been fostering for years in December 2019. After the adoption, the couple decided to try for another child, but they were in for a major shock when Maxine fell pregnant with quadruplets, quickly growing their family to 11 members.
Jake and Maxine married in May of 2016 they wanted a family right away. ArLette wrote: “Maxine always wanted to be a foster parent and had always dreamed of having a large family with adopted and biological children. Jake was completely on board and loved the idea of having a house filled with lots of love and laughter, maybe a little bit of chaos too!”
They got a bit more love and chaos than they expected, though. First, the couple completed foster parent training and took in three siblings on July 28, 2017. At the time, the children were four, two, and 11 months, and they were joined a month later by a fourth sibling, a newborn baby girl. ArLette explained: “All the while, they were trying for a baby to join their family. They suffered ᴍᴜʟᴛɪᴘʟᴇ ᴍɪsᴄᴀʀʀɪᴀɢᴇs, ᴄʜᴇᴍɪᴄᴀʟ ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴄɪᴇs, a round of I.V.F and an I.U.I before they finally were blessed with their son, Henry, in October 2018.”
Just a year after Henry was born, the couple officially adopted the four siblings they were fostering on December 20, 2019. Maxine – who shares her family’s story on their: “It was chaos. We went from zero to five within less than a year.” The couple thought their family of seven was complete, but within weeks of finalizing the adoption, Maxine found out she was ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴛ again – this time, without even having to use I.V.F. Maxine said: “I didn’t even think that I could get ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴛ without I.V.F or I.U.I, which we had to do with our son. I remember texting [my husband] and was like, ‘Oh my Gᴏᴅ’.”
And they soon learned that they weren’t expecting just one more baby but four, since Maxine had unexpectedly become ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴛ with quadruplets. Maxine gave birth on July 31 at 32 weeks. The couple named them Silas Ledger, Theo Alexander, Beck Killian, and Cecilia Hudson, and they were born between 8 a.m. and 8:02 a.m., each weighing between three and four pounds. They all spent some time in the N.I.C.U, though two of the babies have been able to go home this week. Jake said: “It’s been ᴄʀᴀᴢʏ, but I don’t think it’s hit us just yet. Meeting the babies was an indescribable moment. All of the struggles from the past few months were immediately forgotten, the ᴘᴀɪɴ and stress didn’t matter, in that moment, everything we have been through was worth it. Luckily, they’re all doing really well, and we’re really grateful.”
Source: babynewss.com
