Washington couple welcomes quintuplets delivered at a Phoenix hospital
A couple from Washington recently welcomed all five of their quintuplets at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix earlier this summer in June.
Proud parents Graham and Stephanie Freels made the decision to reside in Arizona for the latter half of Stephanie's pregnancy after researching and deciding they wanted Dr. John Elliott, a renowned perinatologist specializing in higher-order multiple pregnancies out of Phoenix to deliver their four daughters and one son.
Graham, 29, and Stephanie, 27, had wanted to be parents from the day they were married in 2017. However, shortly after their marriage, they learned Stephanie was suffering from a pituitary cyst, which was removed but still created a struggle for the couple to get pregnant, according to a news release from the hospital.
Five years later, Graham and Stephanie's wish to be parents came true as they learned the day before Christmas Eve that Stephanie was pregnant. After learning she was expecting, Stephanie's hormone levels were tested, and doctors said they were off the charts meaning they could be expecting more than one baby.
During the first ultrasound appointment on Jan. 4, it was revealed they were expecting quintuplets.
“It was one of the craziest moments of our lives,” said Stephanie in a news release from the hospital. “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.”
The Freels spent most of Stephanie's second trimester enjoying springtime in Phoenix with a plan to carry the babies until 34 weeks. However, that didn't all work out as planned as they ended up meeting their little ones a bit earlier than expected.
On June 3, Stephanie and Graham went to St. Joseph’s because Stephanie was in a considerable amount of pain. To their surprise, they learned that Stephanie was 6 centimeters dilated and the babies would be born via emergency C-section at just 27 weeks' gestation, according to a news release from St. Joseph's.
Adelyn, Eliana, Linnea, Fisher and Harper Freels were born in the early morning of June 4. Since the babies were born 13 weeks early, all of the babies hardly weighed more than 2 pounds. Each baby had a team ready to provide them with the immediate care they would need after birth.
Immediately after birth, the babies were placed in the hospital’s Nursery Intensive Care Unit for post-birth care, which lasted 11 weeks. Amazingly, none of their children experienced any serious complications from their preterm birth, according to a hospital news release.
After 76 days, the final quintuplet was discharged last week and all five of the babies are now happily under one roof at home with their parents in Phoenix.
“We are so grateful to have all of our children home with us,” said Stephanie in a hospital news release. “So many people have prayed for us and our family throughout our journey and NyICU experience. 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.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Washington couple welcomes quintuplets delivered at Phoenix hospital
