Megan Hulen, from Minot, North Dakota, and husband Joshua were already parents to Jacob, 7, and Matthew, 2, when they decided to try for another child in hopes of having a baby Gɪʀʟ.
A mother with polycystic ovary syndrome means she did not ovulate naturally, was previously dependent on fertility ᴅʀᴜɢs and an IUI to ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇɪᴠᴇ. So the couples were amazed to learn that they had ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇɪᴠᴇd the five senses through natural ovulation.
She said: “We decided to try for our daughter again, and I became Pʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴛ before we could begin IUI. I started to feel really weird and I thought, it’s definitely impossible to get Pʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴛ because I never actually ovulated.
But the first time I found out I was Pʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴛ, and that in itself was a sᴜʀᴘʀɪsᴇ. But then we found out we were having five kids and nothing could prepare us for that.”
The couple had an ultrasound at six weeks and they were initially told there was only one heartBᴇᴀᴛ and it was unlikely all five would survive.
“We came back after a week and saw five heartBᴇᴀᴛs,” Megan said. I was in sʜᴏᴄᴋ – the sonographer was worried they’d ʜᴜʀᴛ me because I was shaking and I said, “I’m shaking because you told me I’m having five babies.
After the ultrasound, I told my husband that I couldn’t go home because I needed time away from the baby so we went to his office and I sat in the corner and cried for about an hour.”
But while the news came as a sʜᴏᴄᴋ to Megan, she says her previous pregnancy taught her to stay calm.
She said: “My three-month-old son Matthew was born with nager syndrome, and we spent three months with him in the NICU. It was a really difficult time. I went through my entire pregnancy with him and I think I realized that wasn’t in my favor. I couldn’t control anything and what would happen – I wasted too much time worrying.
In an effort to relax during this pregnancy, I started taking pictures of my belly once a week and celebrating those little achievements. Once I have that passion, I can only be happy in this moment.”
Putting emotions aside, Megan discovered that Cᴀʀʀʏing one baby vs five was a significant difference.
“There is a lot of difference being Pʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴛ with one and Pʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴛ with five. I can’t vacuum carpets without a break. Standing in front of the mirror to put on makeup, I would feel too stressed or too tired to lift weights and need to sit down. Even half an hour is too long to stand!”
But while the pregnancy progressed slowly, Megan was baffled by both the speed and ease of the birth. She was admitted to Fargo Hospital in Sanford at 32 weeks after doctors noticed a spike in her ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ pressure, and the couple welcomed their son via cesarean section on September 2.
Megan said: “The birth was not what I expected. I was sʜᴏᴄᴋed because the babies were all born just 4 minutes apart. It was boom boom boom and all the babies were out. It actually took longer to sort my bleeding and I stitched it up than it took to get the babies out.”
All babies were born at 2:20 a.m. Allison weighed 3 pounds 5.6 ounces; Adam 4 pounds 0.2 ounces; Madison 3 pounds 6 ounces; Emma 3 pounds 10.9 ounces; and Chloe 3 pounds and 3.5 ounces.
Within three days of giving birth, Megan was discharged from the hospital, despite earlier warnings by doctors that she might need a ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ transfusion due to complications during the birth.
“We thought they were going to be in the NICU for at least a month or so and within three weeks we had to get them all home,” Megan said. The doctors were as sᴜʀᴘʀɪsᴇd as we were.”
The couple are now settling into family life with their families, admitting it’s been soᴍᴇᴛʜing of a learning curve.
“The lives of the upper classes of employees are chaotic but it’s a good mess – we’re very happy to have everyone under one roof,” Megan said.
My husband and I were pretty much up 24 hours the first few days because the feedings took up to three hours.”
Normally, busy Megan wakes up at 3 a.m. every morning to breastfeed and then comes back at 7 a.m. before trying to get a little rest between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m before her Bᴏʏs get up. She then began teaching Jacob at home before moving on to preparing and administering medication to Matthew.
Once Matthew is cared for one or two babies will “start fussing” and Megan will begin her army-style feeding operation.
She explains: “Every time we feed us, we change their diapers and record their changes and feedings in an app as well as how much they ate because with 5 kids it’s easy to forget who did What .”
Megan added: “Our eldest is adjusting very well. He was very excited with the kids from the very beginning and was the only one who correctly guessed all the genders.
“He told me that ‘mom made a wish and prayed for the sisters’ so he got his wish and was very emotional and enjoyed helping them.”
