by Dad Of Seven Children Share His Life To Take Care Of His Children
Almost as soon as they met in 2001, Amy and Chad knew they had something special. Chad was working at a grocery store in their town of Castro Valley, California, and Amy, then 18, came in with her mom to shop. “We kind of noticed each other,” says Chad, 40. “At one point I was letting my manager know and letting other people know, like, ‘Hey, I like this girl that’s coming in here.’ She eventually ran out and said, ‘Here’s this guy’s number, he likes you.'”
During their first date on Dec. 31, 2001, “we both agreed we wanted three to four kids,” says Chad, a data scientist for San Mateo County, California. The talk of marriage and kids early on felt comfortable, and they’ve been together ever since. After they married in 2007, Chad finished a master’s degree and began teaching at San Jose State. Finally, the time was right to begin trying for those talked-about kids Chad and Amy tried to have children for two years before starting intrauterine insemination (IUI).
In late 2012, the couple learned that Amy was carrying twin boys. But Marshall and Spencer, born at 22 weeks and three days on May 2, 2013, each ᴘᴀssᴇᴅ ᴀᴡᴀʏ within an hour. Sad yet determined to look forward, they continued to try again. Amy would give birth to Savannah in October of 2014 the pregnancy was fraught with anxiety. Still, Chad and Amy continued to grow their family, and second daughter Avery was born in June, 2016. After her birth, Amy was ready to stop, while Chad wanted to keep trying for the third.
“There was a lot of times where I was like, I’m just worn out and I’m overwhelmed,” says Amy.
Amy agreed to continue for another child, and on Aug. 24, 2017 she learned she was pregnant again. The couple suspected she might be carrying more than one child because her levels of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) . An early ultrasound confirmed their suspicions. With all the flickering heartbeats on the first ultrasound, Chad claims it appeared to be seven hearbeats. “And I’m ᴅᴇᴠᴀsᴛᴀᴛᴇᴅ — we knew that that kind of pregnancy usually doesn’t last. You’re going to lose them.” Amy knew that
Despite the urging of doctors to abort most of the fetuses to increase the chances that some would survive, called multifetal reduction, the Amy refused. At 27 weeks and 3 days, on Jan. 11, 2018, Amy gave birth to three boys and two girls — Lincoln, Noelle, Grayson, Preston and Gabriella. After up to 73 days in the NICU, all appeared healthy and had come home. But even as the couple was elated that the children survived, Amy found herself overwhelmed with a flood of mixed emotions over what lay ahead.
With his inventive parenting techniques and ingenious hacks, Chad Kempel has impressed his audience and became popular on the internet. Every step might be a source of anxiety for individuals who have experience caring for youngsters. For a parent of a newborn, each day is a demanding adventure. With all the activity around them since the birth of the quintuplets, Amy and Chad have struggled to carve out one-on-one time.
“I’m hugely grateful that they kids are all in good health, obviously, but I think the last four years have been the most difficult four years of our 20-year relationship. I think I can say that without hesitation. We truly just don’t have time for each other anymore.” says Amy
