Your Family – September 2019

REAL PEOPLE

SEPTEMBER 2019 27

W

henNoluthandofell
pregnant,sheandher
husbandJoeweretoldshe
wascarryingfourbabies.
‘Butby 12 weeks,thescanshowedonly
threeofthem,’sherecalls.
Thecouplehadbeenstrugglingwith
secondaryinfertilityissues(Noluthando
hasachildfromaformerrelationship,
whileJoehastwinsfromhisprevious
marriage)andNoluthandowastaking
ovulation-inducingdrugs.Multiplebirths
areacommonside-effectofthem.
Althoughtheywereoverwhelmed,
thecouplehadnochoicebuttoprepare
themselvesmentally(andfinancially)for
thisnewchallenge.‘Weboughtclothes
andbabyaccessoriesinthrees,from
booteestobottlesandstrollers.Iactually
enjoyedshoppingfortriplets.Wealso
pickedthreenames:Siyanda,Sbahle
andSimosihle.’
Noluthando’sobstetrician,DrMoeng
Pitsoe,plannedaCaesareansectionbirth.
‘OnceIreached 30 weeks,heassured
meI’dpassedthecriticalstageofthe

pregnancy.Bythen,I’dalreadygone

onmaternityleave,butwasbattlingto

walkorevenstand,andmylegswere

hurtingme,’shesays.Thedoctorduly

scheduledtheC-sectionforthemorning

of 6 September2018.

‘Everythingwasgoingwellinthe

deliveryroomandthefirstthreebabies

cameoutasplanned.Buttheyweren’t

doneyet.Afewsecondslater,Iheard

thedoctorannouncing:“There’safourth

onereadytocomeout...andafifthone!”'

Joe,standingnexttohiswife,almost

collapsedfromshock.Thecouplehadto

addtwomorenamestotheirlist:Slindile

andSindisiwe.

Thechancesofhavingquintupletsare

onein 42 million.TheNdlangisababiesare

onlythefifthsetofquinstobeborninthis

countrysincethe1960s.Likealltheother

sets,theycomprisefourgirlsandoneboy.

However,unlikethelasttwosetsborn,all

Noluthando’squinsarebouncingbabies,

healthy,abletobreatheontheirownand

showingsteadyweightgain.Threeof

themweredischargedafteramonthin

theneonatalwardandtheothertwoa

weeklater.

Thusbegananevenmorestrenuous

journey:raisingthebabies.Noluthando

andJoewerenotonlyfacedwiththe

exhaustingroutineofcaringforthe

infants,butwerealsothrustintofinancial

difficulty,withtwomoreunexpected

mouthstofeed.

‘Originallywehadtwohelpers:one

forthenightandtheotherfortheday.

Eventually,though,wecould only afford to

keeponeofthem,’saysNoluthando.

Atypicaldayforherstarts between

5amand6am,whenSindisiwe – the

youngestandsmallestbaby – wakes

herupcryingforafeed.The rest follow

induecourse.Simosihle,the third-born,

isusuallythelasttowake,between 8am

and10am.‘Onagoodnight, we probably

sleepaboutfivehours–but often, far less

thanthat,’shesays.‘Weusually need to

makeabout 10 bottlestolast us through

thenight.Ididn’tbreastfeed from the

beginning,asIcouldn’tproduce enough

milkforallofthem.Ourdoctor said I

shouldbreastfeedSindisiwe, though, to

ensureherweightcatches up with that of

hersiblings.’

Shesaystheybattledto differentiate

thematfirst.‘Atonestage, we labelled

theirbottleswiththeirnames after the

nannieskeptfeedingthesame baby over

andoveragainbecausethey couldn’t tell

themapart!

'Nowwecantellthemapart easily,

butotherpeoplestillfindit difficult.

Eventheirgrandparentsare still confused

ayearlater!

‘God’sbeengoodtous and we’re

foreveramazedatthesemiracle babies.

It’sajoytoseethemplaying together. It

hasn’tallbeeneasy,though. I can’t do all

thethingsIusedtodo,like going to gym.

'Fortunately,mycompany granted me

ayear’sleavetofocusonraising them. But

Imightjustneedanotheryear off to catch

upwithsleep!’

Take five

Sindisiwe Slindile

Siyanda

Simosihle

Sbahle

NOLUTHANDO NDLANGISA

and her husband were expecting

triplets – but, while giving birth,

a fourth baby popped out – and

then a fifth one!