Courtney and Eric Waldrop from Alabama became the proud parents of sextuplets in 2017, bringing a total number of children they have to nine. All were born healthily and were placed in the ICU for ten weeks as a precaution before heading home.
Courtney and Eric knew firsthand the pain of infertility. They had three miscarriages after the birth of their first son. Then, they experienced one more before successfully getting pregnant with twin boys.
Even after losing four babies to miscarriage, the Waldrops were fortunate to have children. Their three boys kept them busy and smiling. The joy they had in their children made them want to have even more.
The Waldrops’ desire for more children made them eager to try again. In the wake of their fourth miscarriage, Courtney began taking low doses of fertility medications. Even though this regimen was designed to help her avoid the risk of multiple pregnancies, she and her husband were soon overjoyed to find they were expecting six children.
As part of a fundraiser held by their church, the couple eagerly lit candles to emit smoke in colors representing the genders of their preborn children. After a string of three candles raised blue smoke to the sky, the three remaining candles gave off pink smoke. The crowd cheered for the three boys but roared for the three girls
Finally, the sextuplets’ birthday arrived. After the family prayed with their pastor, Joe Cannady, Courtney gave Cesarean section birth to all six children. The eagerly anticipated births occurred over just four minutes.
The three girls were named Rivers, Rain, and Rawlings. Layke, Tag, and Blu were the names chosen for the Waldrops’ three youngest boys. After a 10-week ICU stay, the babies went home to an eleven-member family home.