Life gives the occasional shock to every person, no matter how stable they think they are. While these surprises are sometimes unpleasant, they are often unbelievably amazing too. Just take the experience of Jamie and Skyler Scott, who got the surprise of a lifetime while struggling to conceive a third child.
Since life doesn't come with an instruction manual, the couple from Utah had to learn to survive under new circumstances. The "surprise" would've been a terrifying experience for any ordinary couple, but the Scotts were special. Despite experiencing rocky times, they enjoyed every minute of their journey. Stop wondering and discover what life-changing phenomenon happened to them now!
The Stars Of This Story - Nice To Meet
Jamie and Skyler Scott were two teenagers, 13 and 16 years old, who lived in the same neighborhood. They were brought up in religious families, which is how they ended up being in the same church group.
As teenagers, an age gap of 3 years was pretty significant. Jamie noticed Skyler right away since teenage girls tend to find older guys attractive, but the latter didn't really think much of the young girl. In fact, he didn't even remember her once they got the chance to really get to know each other years later.
From Blind Dates To Wedding Bells
One fine day, Skyler's sister decided to set him up on a blind date. If you didn't guess already, his date was Jamie. The two hit it off pretty quickly, so much that Skyler fell in love with her after they'd been on a couple of dates.
It looks like Skyler's sister knew who was the perfect choice for her brother. After some time, the two got engaged. It was even Jamie who casually popped the question - Skyler agreed, of course. It didn't take long for the couple to plan their dream wedding and tie the knot.
Building A Family Of Four
Just one year after the two became husband and wife, they also became parents. Their first child was Shayden Riley Scott, born on July 28, 2005. Soon, he became the apple of his parents' eyes, but the Scotts wanted to expand their family.
However, conceiving their second child wasn't as easy as the first. It took years of trying for Jamie and Skyler to get pregnant again. Somehow, their newest member, Landon Michael Scott, arrived on August 3, 2010. They were a happy family of four residing in St. George, Utah.
Desire For A Bigger Brood
According to statistics, a typical American household would have anywhere between two to three children. Somehow, their statistics also stated that Utah and Hawaii had the largest average families. The Scotts' were that "typical" family as they still wanted to expand their family.
Once again, the process of trying for another child began. Perhaps they were hoping for a girl this time as they already had two boys. Since they already had trouble conceiving their second son, both Skyler and Jamie knew the task wouldn't be easy. However, they didn't give up.
Never Losing Hope
Months passed by, and the couple saw no luck heading their way. Time flew fast, and before they knew it, they've already passed the five-year mark. By that point, both of them felt like giving up. But since they were religious people, they didn't lose faith in God.
Both Skyler and Jamie were frustrated. It killed Skyler to see his wife going through such difficult times. They even thought about accepting that a family of four will be the biggest they'll ever have. While options like adopting were available, they decided on another method to help them have another biological child.
Seeking Help From Modern Medicine
Skyler and Jamie consulted a specialist to learn about their options and soon started to take fertility medications. They also went through with their first round of intrauterine insemination (IUI). For those of you who are wondering what that is, here you go.
As per Healthline, IUI is a form of artificial insemination, during which a man's sperm is placed directly into a woman's uterus. The American Pregnancy Association describes its purpose as "increasing the number of sperm that reach the fallopian tubes," which can ultimately increase the probability of a woman conceiving.
Seven Years Of Waiting For Luck
IUI treatments are generally more affordable than IVF and can cost anywhere between $300 to $1K, as per Planned Parenthood. That explains how the Scotts went through two rounds of IUI. The question is, did these two procedures help their process along in any way?
Well, one random day, Jamie decided to take a home pregnancy test like she usually does. After seven years of not seeing the second line appear on the stick, she had almost given up. It was more of a routine test, so she didn't think much of it.
Dreams Do Come True
Jamie caught a glimpse of her pregnancy test after the specified waiting time passed, and she was shocked. The second line was finally there! She was over the moon and couldn't wait to share the big news with her husband. After all, he had waited for this day just like her.
It felt so surreal—almost to the point where Jamie thought she imagined it. In fact, she was worried that she'd wake up the next day and realize it was all part of a dream. Luckily for them, it was more like their dream finally came true.
Overjoyed and Ready For Another Kid!
Skyler felt relieved. In a few months, he would be welcoming the child they've been waitingvi for all this time. And how could we forget Shayden and Landon, who also can't wait to find out if they would have a baby sister or brother?
Since Skyler suffers from Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), he was always full of energy. He was more than ready to channel this energy into their newborn and help Jamie in every way he can. But soon enough, the couple started to realize the apparent differences in this pregnancy compared to their previous ones.
A Nerve-racking Visit To The Doctor's Office
In this pregnancy, Jamie started to show pretty quickly. It was not much of a reason to worry until she started noticing her belly growing at a faster pace. While it was normal for a pregnant woman's weight to increase, Jamie realized that hers was rocketing.
The couple was starting to stress and decided to take a visit to the doctor's office. After discussing with her doctor, Jamie gave blood to be tested and waited impatiently. Well, they were in for quite a surprise with the results...
More Than One Bun In The Oven
The blood test results revealed that Jamie's hormone levels were higher than it was supposed to be. Usually, this is a common occurrence in multiple pregnancies, and the pair were starting to feel ecstatic as they realized they could be having twins.
In fact, if they were lucky, Jamie and Skyler could even become parents of triplets soon. The seven years of waiting seemed worth it right now. The Scotts were ready to consider themselves blessed and expand their family with one or even two more members than they'd imagined. Somehow, that wasn't the case.
The Big Revelation
Neither this couple nor any other couple would ever be ready for the news that came next. In October 2017, after careful observation, their doctor revealed that they were about to have not one or two but five kids in a few months. That's right—Jamie and Skyler were expecting quintuplets!
According to Daily Mail UK, the two were struck with a 1 in 55 million chance when they conceived five babies. Not only were the next few months going to be hard, but they were in for a bumpy ride for a handful of years.
Decisions After Decisions After Decisions
Typically, a couple would freak out if they found out they were going to have a massive family all at once. Instead, Skyler and Jamie felt ecstatic after hearing the news. To them, it was an extra blessing. Of course, they knew they had to arrange finances, accommodations, and whatnot. Furthermore, the two had to discuss everything over.
The task of raising five kids of the same age was going to be financially, physically, and emotionally draining. However, after finally seeing their little ones in their first ultrasound and listening to their tiny heartbeats, everything seemed to fall in place.
Finding The Right Obstetrician
One of the biggest decisions that the couple had to make was to leave their family home in Utah behind and temporarily relocate to Phoenix, Arizona. If you're wondering why they moved, it's so they could follow this unusual pregnancy under the guidance of Dr. John Elliott, the medical director of Valley Perinatal Services and the Elliott Center for Multiples.
Dr. Elliott was probably the best obstetrician they could seek help from as he had successfully delivered 23 sets of quintuplets by then, as per Valley Perinatal's website. Jamie was in good hands.
Past Pregnancies Vs. Current Pregnancy
This pregnancy was very different from Jamie's past ones. Dr. Elliott advised her to gain 100 pounds if she wanted to feed and keep her five babies healthy. It was no easy task as this meant she had to load up on carbs and consume 4,000 calories each day.
Even though Jamie craved cucumbers, she had to make friends with pizzas, burgers, and milkshakes to gain so much weight. When she was pregnant with her boys in the past, Jamie suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum, a complication that caused severe morning sickness and weight loss. Luckily for her, that wasn't a problem this time, or it would've disrupted her weight-gaining process.
How The Rest Of The Family Dealt With It All
While Jamie was doing the hard work, Skyler was doing his part by getting ready for when the babies arrive. He mastered his cooking skills and learned how to do laundry in bulk because that would be the new normal soon.
Shayden and Landon, on the other hand, wished their mother good luck after learning about her rare and risky pregnancy. Right around the same time, Skyler and Jamie decided to document and share their journey on the internet, which is how the Five Two Love platforms came to be.
All About Five Two Love
The Five Two Love platforms (referring to the quintuplets and two kids) were established on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Today, they have over 545K likes, 358K subscribers, and 192K followers on the platforms, respectively. They released their first YouTube video in November 2017, with the title "Expecting Quintuplets - Christmas Preparations."
Through a live video on Facebook, the family got to reveal the genders of the babies to their followers on the online world. They announced that they were expecting three girls and two boys in January 2018, live from their doctor's office.
Physically Defeated
The pregnancy was getting harder to cope with as every day passed by since Jamie was a petite woman who was only 5'4" tall. Her baby bump was becoming big and heavy, making it that much harder for her to walk or do anything by herself.
Before she knew it, Jamie was bound to a wheelchair for most of the day. She was feeling more and more uncomfortable every day, and as much as she wanted to be done with it, she was willing to sacrifice anything to make sure her quintuplets were safe and healthy.
Delivery Plan In The Midst Of Financial Struggles
Jamie discussed her situation with Dr. Elliott and was looking forward to birthing the babies at 34 weeks via Caesarean section. So, the family took up residence in Phoenix, not too far away from the hospital.
Even though they had good health care coverage, there were other costs for accomodating the needs of Jamie and the quintuplets. This was in addition to the two sons they already had who were in school at the time. As much as they prayed and hoped for the best, there still came an unfortunate turn of events.
A High-Risk Situation
At only 21.5 weeks, the sac around Baby A ruptured. It added an unexpected risk factor to the pregnancy and put Jamie in hospice care. Somehow, the sac began to heal while she was in the hospital, and even an experienced doctor like Dr. Elliott stated he'd never seen it happen in a quintuplet pregnancy before, as reported by AZCentral.
The pregnancy was still high-risk, and the chances of all the babies surviving were at one percent. It's the worst thing an expecting parent could hear. They only had to pull through for a couple more months, so they kept praying.
They Just Couldn't Wait!
Despite Jamie and Dr. Elliott's plan to deliver the babies at 34 weeks, it had to be done five whole weeks earlier. She was rushed to the NICU at Dignity Health St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, where their trusted doctor delivered five healthy and beautiful babies through C-section on March 21, 2018.
All five of the little ones were born weighing less than three pounds since they were premature. Due to that reason, they had to spend two-and-a-half months in incubators before they were finally ready to go home.
Ready To Get To Know Them?
The five kiddos were great bundles of joy and were named Logan, Lily, Violet, Daisy, and Lincoln. Shayden and Landon were beyond happy to be big brothers, and just like that, the family of four became a crowded family of nine.
The family thanked the doctors and the hospital staff for the months of care, bid farewell to Phoenix, and made their way back home to Utah. Although the real drama was just about to begin, both Skyler and Jamie were super delighted about the fact that their family was finally complete.
Finding Support in a GoFundMe Fundraiser
Skyler and Jamie were in a learn-as-you-go situation. They were trying their hardest to do right by their kids and working effortlessly to provide for them. Amidst all the chaos, Skyler's sister, Amanda Scott, was kind enough to intervene and help.
On February 1, 2018 (before the babies were born), Amanda shared the story of the quintuplets on GoFundMe with the hope of helping her brother and sister-in-law raise funds to get by with seven children. It was a significant gesture on her part as they managed to make over $37K, for which the Scotts were eternally grateful.
It Takes A Village To Raise Quintuplets
With this life-changing experience, Jamie and Skyler learned to live every day like it's a gift. Even though life gave them a few dozen lemons at once, they managed to survive by making a few gallons of sweet lemonade.
As the quintuplets are now toddlers, the parents' lives will only get more exhausting. Luckily for them, they'd already raised two wonderful sons, who help take care of their little siblings. For instance, one of the family's YouTube videos showed how Shayden (now 15) gets the two boys of the quintuplets ready in the morning while his parents take care of the girls.
How Life Flows With A Big Family
The Five Two Love family became very famous on social media platforms after their story went viral back in early 2018. They have hundreds of thousands of fans following their lifestyles on social media, and Skyler and Jamie don't disappoint. They post on YouTube pretty regularly (multiple times a week lately).
The Scotts, now a family of nine, share their life updates and even the most minute things regarding their little ones, from getting their first teeth to birthdays. They even document visits to the park! Someday, these kids will have a whole family collection of video journals to look back on, and we think that's beautiful.