Do you remember how exhausted you were when you had a baby? How overwhelmed emotionally and physically, how even the smallest task seemed impossible? Imagine that times six for a moment. I know, it's a lot. But it's exactly what this woman who gave birth to six babies in less than 10 minutes must be feeling right now, and honestly I hope everyone is super nice to her and gives her whatever she wants forever. Because I can't even imagine how she's feeling right now and I'm really trying.
Thelma Chiaka gave birth to six babies at The Woman's Hospital in Houston, Texas on Friday, as per The Houston Chronicle. And this mom managed to pull it off in just nine minutes. I can't even drink a coffee in under 10 minutes, if that puts things in perspective at all. The babies were born between 4:50 and 4:59 on Friday morning, and weighed between 1 pound, 12 ounces and 2 pounds, 14 ounces. And here's what's even more amazing, if you're not already hyperventilating slightly from the idea of six babies coming into your world all at once within nine minutes; Chiaka gave birth to two sets of twin boys and one set of twin girls. Thankfully all of the babies are in stable condition, as per HuffPost, and will stay at the hospital to receive care for the time being.
The odds of giving birth to sextuplets are one in 4.7 billion, as reported by The Women's Hospital in Houston, which must certainly make this mom feel pretty blessed. It definitely helped that she was in the care of a dedicated medical team including perinatologist Dr. Ziad Haidar, Dr. Sharmeel Khaira, and neonatologist Dr. Israel Simchowitz, as per Fox 26 Houston. Chiaka has reportedly already named her two daughters Zina and Zuriel, although she's still working on names for her sons, according to The Houston Chronicle. I can't say I blame her; in a pinch I can't come up with six names period.
Sextuplets might be rare, but Chiaka's certainly aren't the first. In Dec. 2017 Eric and Courtney Waldrop from Alabama welcomed six babies (three boys and three girls) at Huntsville Hospital, as per HuffPost Canada. And what's more? They already had three kids at home, 8-year-old son Saylor and 5-year-old twin boys Wales and Bridge. I'm not great at math but I count nine kids under the age of 8. You probably won't be surprised to hear that TLC airs a TV show about the Waldrops called Sweet Home Sextuplets.
This has me wondering if perhaps Thelma Chiaka will get her own TLC show (or documentary) in the future as well. Only time will tell.
For now, I suspect the main concern for Chiaka and the medical staff is simply ensuring those little babies grow nice and strong. And here's hoping this mom gets some help from family and friends along the way.
Because one baby was hard enough. A woman with six babies needs all the help she can get.
