A Washington couple received five times the blessing when they recently welcomed quintuplets after years of struggling with infertility for five long and discouraging years. Graham Freels and Stephanie Freels became first-time parents to four girls and one boy on June 4, 2023.
The babies were delivered via caesarean section at a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. After weeks in the hospital and time in the NICU, the family was finally discharged to return to their home in Washington state over the weekend as a family of seven.
After undergoing an ovulation induction and several rounds of intrauterine insemination, or IUI, the couple learned in December 2022 that they were pregnant. In January 2023, they learned they would be welcoming five babies.
The Freels initially had plans of moving from Stephanie's parents' home into an apartment of their own. But after learning that they'd be becoming parents to five, their plans changed. "At the beginning of December, we told her parents that we were moving out and we had a lease signed at a small apartment," Graham shared. "I called up the landlord and I said, 'I think we're about to have a lot of kids, and I don't think that apartment is going to work for us anymore.'"
More from LittleThings: Mississippi Family Shares First Photo Of Their Quintuplets: 'We've Really Got 5 Kids Now!'
In March, the couple temporarily relocated to Phoenix, Arizona, in order to receive care from Dr. John Elliott, a maternal and fetal medicine specialist. They found him after researching doctors for higher order multiple pregnancies.
Graham worked his full-time job remotely, and Stephanie turned her full focus to managing her quintuplet pregnancy. She battled hyperemesis gravidarum during her pregnancy, which is an extreme level of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.
"I think that was the hardest part of pregnancy for me, that I had to try to meet that [calorie] goal," Stephanie shared. "I didn't really consistently eat solid foods until I was about 23 weeks pregnant."
The goal advised by their medical team was to try to carry the pregnancy to at least 34 weeks. But when Stephanie was 27 weeks pregnant, she started experiencing abnormal pain and swelling. Upon arriving at the hospital, she learned that she was already 6 centimeters dilated and in labor.
The babies were delivered in under three hours. "It was upwards of 20 people in the delivery room because each baby has its own team of nurses, respiratory therapists and physicians to help transition them after birth," said Andrea Hassler, nursing director of women and infant services at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital. "And then Stephanie had her own team on the obstetrical side as well to ensure that she was safe during the delivery as well."
The quintuplets — Adelyn, Eliana, Linnea, Fisher, and Harper — each weighed around 2 pounds at birth. They spent several weeks in the NICU, but according to Andrea, had a "pretty uncomplicated course" medically after being born early. The couple is thrilled to finally be back home, and are grateful for the amount of support they've received.
