Although having twins is a relatively rare occurrence, it’s not unusual to know a few sets of them growing up. Things get rarer the more babies you add into the mix—probably much fewer of us know any triplets, although they do occur. Still, it’s possible to have much more than just three babies at a time.
Exactly 39 years ago, the world welcomed the first set of healthy female sextuplets. Everyone who got to hear the news witnessed the miracle of life. The new parents, Janet and Graham Walton were beyond happy with the new additions to their family. They knew that raising six children had to be challenging, but the joy of having them in their life was worth every sacrifice these parents made.
But the story behind the incredible birth wasn’t an easy road. The Walton parents, Janet and Graham of Liverpool, England, had been trying to have children for years, with no success. The couple even tried twelve failed rounds of fertility treatments.
The Walton’s decided to give it one more shot – and happily, they were granted a miracle. Janet finally became pregnant. But it was at one of their first doctor’s appointments they found out they were getting a lot more than they bargained for.
Janet wasn’t just carrying one baby, she was carrying six! As a precaution, Janet had to be admitted to the local hospital so she could be medically supervised, just in case something went wrong during the rare pregnancy.
However, Janet carried her babies safely all the way to her 31st week of pregnancy and successfully gave birth to six healthy little girls on November 18th, 1983.
Now, they’re all grown up and busy with their lives, but their bond remains as strong as ever.
During the first two years of the little girls’ lives, the Waltons used up 10,000 diapers just trying to keep the babies clean. And the parents only slept a few hours each night. It was tough.
“We lived through those early years in a blur,” Janet said. “The only regret is that there wasn’t enough time to enjoy them as much as we’d have liked.”
With six babies to care for, Janet was always running around and so was Graham.
Now that it has been thirty-nine years since the Walton sextuplets were born, they have made it back into the headlines. People want an update. Their fans want to know what has become of the girls. And the girls are all doing very well and living their lives to the fullest. Their parents could not be happier and prouder.
So, what are the girls up to as adults? Hannah has multiple degrees and is a primary school teacher. Kate works in human resources, while Luci works with an airline as a crew member. Jennie owns a retro sweet shop and Ruth is engaged and works at a call center. Sarah works in a medical center and gave birth to their first grandchild — Jorgie — on October 7, 2014.
Needless to say, Janet and Graham have some parenting wisdom to pass on to their middle sextuplet!
“When Sarah says: ‘Jorgie was awake in the night. I’m so tired!’ I don’t say anything, but I remember back to our girls’ early years,” Janet said. “For two years, Graham and I only slept for a couple of hours a night. It was very difficult, a constant round of nappy-changing and feeding. And we couldn’t learn from our mistakes because we experienced everything at once: the weaning, the potty-training, the first steps. It was a constant onslaught.”
Source: AWM