Having a baby is something a lot of women dream of. And we don’t always think about what happens if we can’t have them.
Sadly, some women find having children to be a difficult process that can take patience and time.
For one couple, they also prayed for a miracle from God. And boy, did he answer it.
Stephanie and Graham Freels, from Washington, said they always had dreamt of being parents. After they got married in 2017, Stephanie said they struggled to get pregnant. After doctors found a cyst, it was removed, but still she hadn’t gotten pregnant, and they had little hope left.
After multiple rounds of fertility treatments, and plenty of prayers, the couple finally got what they had been dreaming of: a positive pregnancy test on Dec. 23rd.
Photo courtesy of the Freels
But the happiness didn’t end there. After having her pregnancy hormone levels tested, they were told there could be more than one baby.
And a month later, there were in fact, FIVE babies! The couple was expecting quintuplets.
“It was one of the craziest moments of our lives,” Stephanie said. “We were so excited and confident that God had purposefully entrusted us with these five precious babies.”
However, we also knew there were serious risks to carrying quintuplets,” she said.
After locating a specialist in the births of multiple babies at St. Joseph’s in Phoenix, Ariz., the couple moved there for the remaining months of Stephanie’s pregnancy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that of the 3.6 million births that occurred in 2020, only 29 were quintuplets or more.
For Graham, it was a time of moving quickly and adjusting their plans to fit their new reality. For example, they had just signed a lease for a small apartment.
“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,” he said, laughing.
On June 3, Stephanie started experiencing pain and, the hospital said in a statement, she was six centimeters dilated. She was rushed in for an emergency c-section.
I was absolutely terrified, but God was with our family through it all as St. Joseph’s amazing medical team cared for Stephanie and helped us welcome our five beautiful children,” Graham said.
The quintuplets were four girls, Adelyn, Eliana, Linnea and Harper; and one boy, Fisher, all born on June 4th. Now dubbed the “Freels Five”, the babies weighed less than 2 pounds each.
Stephanie Freels holds her quintuplets for the first time. Photo by Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center
“For years we had prayed that God would bless us with children, and now it was finally coming true! I’ve always wanted a large family, but I could have never imagined it would happen all at once,” Stephanie said.
After an 11-week hospital stay, all babies have made it home with their parents.
The couple noted that in the first two weeks of having the babies home, they had gone through more than 250 diapers. But one thing they don’t have to worry about – being able to tell the children apart. Graham said that the babies are fraternal, not identical.
But beyond the miracle of having their healthy babies home with them, they said, is witnessing the love and support from everyone around them. Family, friends and even strangers, they said, have helped by cooking meals, sending prayers and more.
“So many people have prayed for us and our family throughout our journey and (hospital) experience,” Stephanie said. “We are so grateful that so many prayers have been answered and we are looking forward to creating new memories as a family of seven.”
“It’s amazing having them at home,” she said.
For a glimpse of the Freels Five, watch below!
