Courtney Struggles To Balance All Nine Kids' Needs On 'Sweet Home Sextuplets'

Every Tuesday on TLC, the Waldrop family lets viewers in on their daily lives: the major triumphs, minor difficulties, and everything in between. Raising nine children would be quite the undertaking even if six of them weren't teeny tiny babies. Trying to take everyone on an outing together is near-impossible, and even making the attempt leaves Courtney Waldrop feeling "divided" in this Sweet Home Sextuplets clip. She has to make sure she's taking care of all nine kids successfully, even though her three older sons and the six babies all have very different needs at the moment.

The clip opens with Courtney wheeling her six-seater stroller into her older son's school. She's there to watch him tear up the court in a basketball game, but she's already running late. The game started before she got there, though she managed to arrive before half-time. Eric is on the sidelines coaching the kids while Courtney takes a seat in the stands with the rest of the family. For a moment, there is relief. Then the struggle begins.

Courtney appreciates her minor victory as she prepares to cheer on her son Sailor, but the joy is unfortunately short-lived. She expresses hope that the sextuplets will stay quiet and well-behaved for the rest of the game, but vocalizing that dream out loud was tantamount to jinxing herself. All it takes it one buzzer to start the domino crying effect from baby to baby.

The buzzer scares one of the little boys, so Courtney scoops him into her lap for comfort. Then one of the girls starts crying, so Courtney passes the first baby along to grandma before giving the second a cuddle. Her goal is to keep them all in their seats, but two of them are already out and they've barely even gotten settled. Courtney keeps her cool, but in a confessional segment, she begins to share her anxiety over the situation. "I'm here to support Sailor and I can barely watch the game," she says. "How can I make the big boys feel special when I'm distracted by the babies at their own special events?"

The rest of the sextuplets start raising a fuss too, pulling Courtney's focus from the game over and over again. First one is tired, then another is hungry, then a third is crying; with six infants to keep an eye on, it's a little difficult to watch the ball too. Balancing all nine kids is something Courtney has trouble with, understandably; I can barely balance one dog with myself, so I can't fathom how she got them out of the house in the first place.

In the confessional, Courtney explains that she wants everyone to be one big happy family when they go out. "But getting out and doing things is just when I become very divided and separated from the babies and the big boys," she says, starting to cry. "You know, one day it will be okay, but at that point, you know, the babies will be older and then the big boys will be older and a lot of these memories and moments that are so special to me right now will be gone."

It's natural to want to give your children equal attention, but that doesn't mean the circumstances always make it easy. Even though Courtney's situation isn't typical, what she's feeling is common and definitely relatable. And while she may get overwhelmed sometimes, she's doing the best she can. That's all she can do.