Easter photoshoots are one of the cutest activities for babies and small children, so Briana and Jordan Driskell make it a tradition for their children, Zoey, Dakota, Hollyn, Asher, and Gavin. Their tradition is made even more special by the fact that the siblings are quintuplets! The chance of conceiving quintuplets is one in 50 million, making it quite a miracle, so the first-time parents experienced mixed emotions after learning that they are expecting five children.
The couple’s journey to conceive, however, was not easy; they struggled for more than two years.”It was the worst emotional rollercoaster I’ve ever been on in my life,” Briana says to TODAY. “We’d start the month optimistically, like, ‘This is it!'” It’s going to happen this time,’ then the test would come and it would be negative once more.”
The Driskells did not notice any pregnancy symptoms until after their fifth fertility treatment. “Every time we tried, we got a baby,” Briana jokes. Briana stated that she noticed pregnancy symptoms right away.She claimed that she could only eat cold cereal with bananas without throwing up from the start. Meanwhile, Briana was diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum, a condition that causes severe nausea and vomiting in about 2% of pregnant women in the United States.
“I lost 10 pounds and was hospitalized for extreme dehydration,” Briana explained. “It was pretty awful.” The couple’s biggest surprise came after their eight-week ultrasound, when they discovered they were expecting quintuplets. Jordan admitted that he was on the verge of passing out. Briana’s doctors estimated that she had a 4-8% chance of having triplets or more if she became pregnant after a series of reproductive procedures involving intrauterine insemination (IUI).
“I was in such shock, I couldn’t speak,” Briana explained. “I just sat there in disbelief, staring at the screen.” I couldn’t believe it when I saw there were five sacs.”Then, just as Briana was starting to feel better at 22 weeks, she learned that her cervix was shortening, which can lead to preterm labor. Briana was rushed to the hospital and spent the rest of her pregnancy in bed.
The soon-to-be mother stated that she intended to keep the babies until they were 30 weeks old. Briana’s quintuplets, on the other hand, were delivered at 28 weeks of pregnancy due to concerns about preeclampsia, a potentially fatal illness characterized by high blood pressure. Meanwhile, at the University of Kentucky’s Chandler Hospital, the quintuplets were delivered via cesarean section.
Briana was kept away from the babies for another day due to complications from preeclampsia. “When I finally saw them, I was crying so hard that I couldn’t breathe,” she explained. “I still can’t believe I’m a mom.” It’s incredible.”Zoey weighed the least at 1 pound and 13 ounces, while Hollyn weighed the most at 2 pounds and 6 ounces. Despite being the smallest, Zoey is the most animated of the infants.”I don’t know what I was thinking,” Briana explained to TODAY.
She stated that they placed each of the babies in a bug bucket with plastic eggs surrounding them and that it took them two hours because they were climbing out and crying. She was pleased with the Easter photoshoot, however, because “the pictures came out really cute!” she adds. The Driskell quintuplets, who are turning six this year, celebrated Easter with lots of chocolate and egg hunts.”It’s a different kind of chaos now,” said Briana.
“It’s now ‘He got the color egg I wanted!'” ‘I didn’t get this candy, but she did.'” “They were tackling each other to get those eggs,” Jordan explained. “It was a case of every man for himself.” Despite some sibling rivalry, the toddlers are “the best of friends,” according to Jordan. “They always have someone to play with,” Jordan observes. “We just love seeing them have fun together.” It’s quite unique.”