The only thing we know for certain in life is that things don’t always work out the way we think they will. Sometimes we get surprises, whether good or bad. Courtney and her husband, Eric, certainly got a surprise when the doctor told them that what she had in her belly was something he had never seen before in the history of the hospital. Let’s see what happened.
Courtney and Eric Waldrop are a lovely young couple from Alabama. They had been together since middle school, and when they got married in 2004, it was clear to both of them that they wanted a large family. It didn’t take long for Courtney to get pregnant, and nine months later, in 2008, they welcomed their baby boy, Saylor, into the world. Their journey as parents had officially begun, but they were clueless about where it would eventually lead them.
After about a year, they started trying for a second child, but some roadblocks were sent their way, and sadly, Courtney suffered a few miscarriages. It’s estimated that one in eight pregnancies ends in miscarriage, so it’s something many families experience. Although it usually happens in the first trimester, it’s often a big blow, especially when the baby is so deeply wanted.
“It was devastating because I can get pregnant so easily; I just can’t hold on to them. It was upsetting, but we had experienced it before, and I knew I had a medical issue that contributed to it,” Courtney said in an interview. She and her husband went for medical checkups but were told it was hard to determine why she kept losing the babies. To help with family planning, they were given fertility treatments, and these worked. Courtney became pregnant with twins—two boys, whom they named Wales and Bridge.
Eric and Courtney were thrilled with their family of five. They could have stopped there, but they felt that perhaps a fourth child would still be nice. Again, it was hard to get pregnant, so fertility treatments were given to the couple. This time, Courtney was put on a lower dosage to minimize the chances of conceiving multiple fetuses again. Well, this didn’t turn out as expected.
When she finally fell pregnant, she went to Huntsville Hospital in Alabama for a checkup. An ultrasound was taken, and Courtney and Eric waited patiently for the results. Soon, the doctor came out with a shocked expression on his face. She was definitely pregnant, but her belly contained something he had not seen in his entire medical career or in the hospital.
There appeared to be no less than six fetuses in her belly. It was incredibly uncommon for something like this to happen without the help of IVF, with odds estimated at 1 in about 5 million. It was essentially a medical miracle and a curiosity for any medical professional. Sextuplets, in general, had not been born at Huntsville Hospital since 2011, let alone such special multiples.
As you can imagine, the news was a tremendous shock for Courtney and Eric. They had simply wanted to have a fourth child, not suddenly turn their family of five into a family of eleven. All the ramifications of this incredible news ran through their minds, and it took a while to process it all. How were they going to manage? They needed six of everything now—from car seats to baby beds, clothes, and bottles. And how many diapers would they need?
There were also medical consequences to think about. Carrying so many fetuses at once posed risks for both the mother and the unborn children. It would likely result in a C-section delivery or even premature birth, with the chance of losing some or all of the babies. Risks for complications like high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, and placenta issues also increased significantly. They were scared and found it hard to feel excited about the pregnancy.
The young couple was offered the option of selective reduction, which meant some of the fetuses would be removed to give the remaining ones a better chance of survival. It was a bitter pill to swallow for Courtney and Eric and something they never thought they would have to consider. Being people of strong faith, they ultimately decided to let faith guide them through the process. They were simply too afraid of making the wrong choice, so they handed it over to God, trusting that things would work out as He intended.
When they returned for a follow-up ultrasound a couple of weeks later, they were delighted to see the six babies still thriving in her belly, all with complete sets of fingers and toes. They were happy they had let things be, but the risks remained. Their aim was to keep the babies in Courtney’s belly until 30 weeks, giving them the best chance to survive outside the womb. Meanwhile, Courtney, who is quite small-framed, was growing larger and larger. She had to eat a lot of food to provide herself and the babies with enough nutrition, something she was not used to at all.
“Please pray that my appetite will allow me to eat like I’ve never eaten before,” she wrote on Facebook.
The couple lived in an incredibly tight-knit community, and as soon as the news was out that the neighborhood would soon be welcoming historically unique sextuplets, everyone was excited. Courtney’s friends organized a 5K run to raise funds for the family, and at the start of the run, they revealed the babies’ genders with colored smoke bombs. Dubbed “God’s Divine Nine,” the Waldrop family was fast gaining celebrity status, cemented when TLC invited them to start their reality TV show, Sweet Home Sextuplets. Now, the whole world could enjoy their joys, trials, and tribulations, making the show a big hit.
In week 25 of her pregnancy, Courtney was told to stay in bed until the babies were born to ensure they would develop steadily and not be born too early. Her belly was enormous, but she managed to smile most of the time, carrying them with love and pride. Because it was a high-risk pregnancy, her movements were very limited. She said the hardest part was not the physical discomfort but the fact that she was now unable to give her three boys the attention she wanted to give them.
“It was nothing more than just the challenge of trying to still be a good mom for them and grow these six babies and get them where they needed to be,” she shared.
Then, just under 30 weeks, Courtney’s body started contracting, and her water broke—it was time. The C-section was immediately scheduled, and it took a team of 40 medical professionals to deliver the six babies into the world. There was a special team for each baby that would catch them and bring them to their own little bed, ready to provide each one with individual attention. Eric stood beside Courtney, holding her hand and supporting her all the way. It all went lightning fast; from the first to the last baby, it only took four minutes.
To everyone’s relief, all six of them—three girls and three boys—came out healthy and right as rain. They would still have to spend a few weeks in the hospital to be monitored, develop, and grow to give them the best start in life. Although the critical 30-week mark had been reached, they were still born prematurely.
So how do you come up with six baby names at once? After Saylor, Wales, and Bridge, Courtney and Eric continued the outdoor theme and named the three girls Rawlings, Rayne, and Rivers, and the three boys Tag, Lake, and Blu.
Now life for the Waldrop family had changed overnight. They had nine children to care for—a daunting task, especially with six newborns needing constant attention. Luckily, Saylor, Wales, and Bridge were already going to school, so during the day, it was just Courtney, Eric, and the six tiny ones. Still, it seemed impossible, so they called for help, and soon had a whole team of friends and family on a 24-hour rotating schedule.
The Waldrops soon realized their house was too small for their big family; there wasn’t even enough space for Courtney and Eric to have a room of their own. So, they planned a major renovation and moved into a trailer in their backyard for the duration of the construction. Little did they know that a global pandemic would hit exactly then, and they would be stuck in the tiny trailer with the whole family for much longer than expected. Can you imagine the struggles and the chaos? And you thought your lockdown was tough!
They managed, and eventually, the construction workers returned to finish the renovation. The TV show continued to air, and the Waldrops became even more famous. Have you seen them on TV? It’s simply amazing to most people watching how the couple manages it all. Taking care of a family of nine is a monumental task—just getting them all strapped into car seats was a mountain to climb each time. But not once did Courtney or Eric raise their voices or get visibly upset. They simply accepted that it was going to be hard, that they were going to be tired most of the time, and that those diapers were going to have to be changed.
The years to come would be exciting, exhausting, thrilling, and challenging—but above all, blessed. Courtney and Eric seemed to be the perfect people to handle it all.
A friend of Courtney’s shared, “They’re like nothing I’ve ever met. Courtney is literally the most positive person you’ll ever meet. She just has a heart of gold. She’s definitely the perfect mom to handle all of this craziness.”
Can you imagine having that many children? It’s not common to see such big families nowadays, especially not such special ones with historically unique sextuplets.
