A mum who feared she would never get pregnant took infertility medication - and ended up with quintuplets. Hannah Merton, 23, and husband Jacob, 24, feared she was infertile so she took medication to stimulate ovulation.
And it was more successful than they could ever have imagined. She fell pregnant with five babies, and Philomena, Evangeline, Meredith, Gideon and Elliot were born prematurely at just 25 weeks.
The teeny miracles weighed between 1lb 13oz and 1lb 4oz each, and had a tough early start. The couple were devastated when the smallest quint, Meredith, died aged three days old, following a fatal brain bleed.
It wasn't until a year later her four brothers and sisters were finally all reunited at home, because Gideon were kept in hospital, after suffering a collapsed lung.
They recently celebrated their second birthday, and despite the full-on job of looking after four young babies, mum Hannah said she "wouldn't change it for the world." Stay-at-home mum Hannah said: "Having lots of children is scary, and it is crazy, but it is so much fun.
"I do have my hands full, that is true. But my heart is even fuller, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
"I suffered from infertility so I took medication to help me ovulate, and it worked better than we expected. We were told at the time I had a 1% chance of having triplets - nobody mentioned the chance of four, never mind five babies because it was so low.
"When I found out there were five I was in complete shock, and feeling every emotion you could possibly feel. Seeing them in the NICU was love at first sight but I couldn't bear to leave them behind, so finally bringing them all home was an amazing feeling.
"Having four babies to look after is very messy - I'm constantly cleaning - and it's chaotic and crazy and loud. People are always making comments that I 'have my hands full' - and I do - there are definitely times I think 'how in the world am I going to do this?'.
"But it's so rewarding and so much fun, and I wouldn't have it any other way."
Hannah and Jacob, a financial planner, began trying to get pregnant three years ago, but when they didn't fall pregnant, took medication to encourage ovulation. In October 2019, a pregnancy test came back positive - and later doctors confirmed Hannah was carrying not one, but five babies.
Hannah said: "It was very shocking when I found out I had five babies. I thought I was suffering with infertility!
"We'd been told the chance of triplets was 1% and we thought anything more than that would be virtually impossible."
Hannah was just five weeks into her pregnancy when she first was able to see her five babies on a scan - but she recalled her pregnancy rushing by. At just 25 weeks pregnant, she was rushed into hospital on March 5, just a fortnight before she turned 21.
The five babies were delivered by caesarean section 15 weeks premature after doctors became concerned for their health. The babies were so tiny - each one less than 2lb - and Hannah said they could fit in the palm of her hand.
The babies immediately needed to be hooked up to endless machines and wires to keep them alive. Hannah said: "When I first saw them all, I was shocked, terrified and excited all at the same time.
"It was love at first sight but so scary seeing them attached to so many different tubes and monitors and wires."
Tragically, the first-time parents had to say goodbye to one of their daughters, Meredith, at just three days old following a fatal brain bleed which likely occurred during her birth. The remaining four tiny babies - Philomena, Evangeline, Gideon and Elliot - had to spend varying lengths of time in NICU because they were too small and weak to go home.
Hannah and Jacob visited the tots in hospital every day as they fought to live - with Gideon suffering a collapsed lung and spending a long time on a ventilator. By five months old, Philomena, Evangeline and Elliot had made it home, but Gideon remained in hospital.
He was unable to properly meet his siblings until he was a year old, when he finally grew strong enough to go home although remained on a ventilator. On March 25 2021, Gideon was finally reunited with his siblings at home.
Hannah said: "Bringing them home was amazing but scary, it was the first time each of them had not been hooked up to monitors. Suddenly not being able to see their heart rate and oxygen levels was nerve-wracking, but also exciting.
"It was the first time that we were the ones properly taking care of them."
Since getting all four of the babies back home, Hannah and Jacob discovered the reality of looking after four tots at once. It was made more of a challenge by the pandemic which left them with less support than they would have had.
Gideon still has breathing problems and a tracheostomy, and Evangeline has cerebral palsy. But the young parents have taken the challenge in their stride - and say they embrace the chaos.
Hannah explained: "It's pretty much go-go-go every day - crazy, chaotic and loud. It's very messy, I'm cleaning my house non-stop.
"I clean one mess then turn around and there's another one appeared just behind me. But I like it that way - I grew up in a big family too - I was one of eight children."
The two girls, Evangeline and Philomena, share one bedroom while the boys, Elliot and Gideon, share another. The parents keep organised thanks to a strict home schedule - naps, mealtimes and bath time occur at the same time each day.
Elliot and Philomena are both now on their feet and have learnt to walk and climb - making the parents' job that much more chaotic. Hannah said: "There are definitely times each day where I think 'how in the world am I going to do this?'
"But I don't have another choice - stuff has to get done, so we get on with it."
But despite the chaotic mum life, Hannah says she wouldn't change a thing. She and Jacob said they would even consider one day having another child one day.
