The couple got the sʜᴏᴄᴋ of their lives, now parents to a total of nine children after welcoming quadruplets, about a year after ᴀᴅᴏᴘᴛɪɴɢ four siblings. Maxine and Jake Young , from Berks County, US have always wanted a big family, they never expected to have nine kids, especially within a three-year period. But that’s exactly what happened to the Youngs, who now share an ᴀᴅᴏᴘᴛᴇᴅ set of four siblings — Aiden, 8; Parker, 5; Connor, 4; and Elliott, 3 — a 23-month-old biological son, Henry, and 8-week-old biological quadruplets, Theo, Silas, Beck and Cecilia. Maxine said :” This wasn’t like what we intended. We didn’t plan to have this large of a family. But it just seems like these babies are meant to be. I can’t imagine not having all four of them now at this point.”
The couple’s journey started in 2017 when they began their ғᴏsᴛᴇʀɪɴɢ training, after getting married a year earlier. Maxine explained: ” We had originally said that we would take up to two children, and they called us with a 4-year-old, a 2-year-old and an 11-month-old. I was like, ‘I think we should do it! I think we should take them on as a placement.’ And so we did. We went from just me and Jake to parents of three overnight. And then not even a month later, we got a call for their baby sister. She was in the ⓃⒾⒸⓊ . So we picked her up … and went from zero to four in less than a month. It was great and definitely ᴄʜᴀᴏᴛɪᴄ.” Six months into ғᴏsᴛᴇʀɪɴɢ the kids, Maxine learned she was ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴛ with her and Jake’s first biological child. The news was incredibly exciting for the couple, as they had been trying for a baby through ⒾⓋⒻ and sᴜғғᴇʀᴇᴅ ᴛᴡᴏ ᴍɪsᴄᴀʀʀɪᴀɢᴇs before ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇɪᴠɪɴɢ Henry through ⒾⓊⒾ.
Maxine said:”I was really skeptical and almost didn’t think that it would actually work out. But then as it went on, and once we got to 12 weeks and 14 weeks, that’s when we got really excited and really happy that our family was growing.” But little did they know, that was only the beginning of their expanding family. A few weeks and several ᴜʟᴛʀᴀsᴏᴜɴᴅs later, ᴅᴏᴄᴛᴏʀs confirmed she was actually ᴄᴀʀʀʏɪɴɢ four babies, not three. She said :” I remember this so vividly because I remember saying, ‘Oh my gosh, what if there was another baby? Like hahaha, totally just joking’ . And she looked at me and she said, ‘Maxine, there is. There is another baby in there.’ I was shock. I was excited, but also really, really nervous because it is definitely a ʜɪɢʜ ,ʀɪsᴋ ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴄʏ.”
Despite ᴅᴏᴄᴛᴏʀs advising the Maxine to ‘ʀᴇᴅᴜᴄᴇ the babies to two’ in order to give them ᴀ ʙᴇᴛᴛᴇʀ ᴄʜᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴀᴛ sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴀʟ, the couple ʀᴇғᴜsᴇᴅ to do so and continued along with the ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴄʏ. At 21 weeks along, Maxine’s ᴄᴇʀᴠɪx starting sʜᴏʀᴛᴇɴɪɴɢ so she and Jake traveled to Phoenix to see ᴀɴ ᴇxᴘᴇʀɪᴇɴᴄᴇᴅ sᴘᴇᴄɪᴀʟɪsᴛ. And sᴀғᴇʟʏ ᴅᴇʟɪᴠᴇʀᴇᴅ Theo, Silas, Beck and Cecilia via C-Sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ on July 31. Because they arrived ᴇᴀʀʟʏ, all four babies spent time in the ⓃⒾⒸⓊ — at both the Phoenix ʜᴏsᴘɪᴛᴀʟ and a local one in Pennsylvania — before they were discharged one-by-one, beginning with Cecilia and ending with Beck. She said :” Luckily, they’re all doing really well, and we’re really grateful. Meeting the babies was an indescribable moment. All of the sᴛʀᴜɢɢʟᴇs from the past few months were immediately forgotten, the pain and stress didn’t matter, in that moment, everything we have been through was worth it.”
Now, at home with their nine children amid ᴀ ɢʟᴏʙᴀʟ ᴘᴀɴᴅᴇᴍɪᴄ, Maxine and Jake say they can’t imagine life any other way even if things are currently very challenging. She said :”It’s definitely ᴄʜᴀᴏᴛɪᴄ and it’s definitely beautiful. Seeing our older kids hold the babies is definitely beautiful, but also it’s ᴄʜᴀᴏᴛɪᴄ. And with ⒸⓄⓋⒾⒹ, we have all of the kids home and have to do online schooling with them. But I think that we make it work, and Jake and I always say everyone’s sᴛʀᴜɢɢʟᴇs are relative. We’ve only known the chaos of ᴀ ʟᴀʀɢᴇ family. We went from zero to four, so we just make it work.”
