Woman’s Day Australia – July 08, 2019

outshewasexpecting

quins,herlegsstarted

to shake as she tried

to come to terms with carrying

five babies at once, who were

conceived naturally without the

aid of fertility drugs or IVF.

Once the shock wore off, she

and husband Vaughn, 35, who

had hoped to fall pregnant with

a longed-for son, started to

prepare for what any parent

would understand was a massive

life change – and an even bigger

challenge. It was a daunting

prospect, but also a joyful one.

Kim – who had son Kurt, 12,

with a former partner – and

Vaughn already had two children

together, daughters Avia, eight,

and Indianna, five, and thought

a third baby would complete

their family unit.

But as fate would have it, they

found themselves expecting

quins in what surprised doctors

called a one-in-55 million

chance. When Kim, 30, gave

birth to non-identical quins

Keith, Ali, Penelope, Tiffany

and Beatrix in January 2016,

she knew she would need help.

FEELING THE PRESSURE

A roster of volunteers swung into

action, and these young parents

appeared to be coping on the

surface, despite severe sleep

deprivation and sheer exhaustion

from caring for eight young

children, including five babies.

“Thestrainstartedtoshowin

ourrelationshipwhenthequins

wereabouteightmonthsold,”

saysKim.

“It’shardtodescribethesorts

ofpressurethatbringingupfive

babiesputsona marriage.”

Indeed,thestatisticsare

sobering– morethan 50 percent

ofmultiplebirthmarriagesend

indivorce.

KimandVaughnwere

determinednottobeoneof

those,butwithKimfallingvictim

topostnataldepression(PND)

andVaughnfeelingthestrain,

theirhomelifebecame

increasinglydifficult.

“Threedaysaftergivingbirth,

I got‘thebabyblues’,”saysKim.

“Ihadit withmyfirstthreekids,

butthistimeit neverwentaway.

I couldn’tstopcrying.I was

restlessandcouldn’tconcentrate

onthesimplestoftasks.Mymind

waseverywhere.I thoughtI’d

snapoutofit ina fewdays,but

it keptgoing.Asit turnsout,

nothinghasfeltstableinmylife

since.Myemotionsandfeelings

areeverywhere.”

Thecoupleseparatedthree

monthsago,afterbothreceived

treatmentforpost-traumatic

stressdisorder(PTSD).Kim

sayssheandVaughnwereboth

tootiredandstressedtoputany

timeintotheirownrelationship.

Sleepbecamefarmore

importantthancommunicating.

“Vaughnfeltlikehehadthe

weightoftheworldonhis

shouldersallthetime,”shesays.

“Hewasbeyondstressedand

alwaystired.Asourrelationship

becamemorestrained,hewould

keephimselfbusyratherthan

confronttheissues.”

Withthepair“bottlingthings

up”beforeexplodingateach

otherlikea “volcano”, Kimsays

theymadethedecisiontosplit.

Vaughnisnowlivingwitha

familymember,visitingthe

kidsuptofourtimesa week,

whileKimraiseshereight

childrenasa singlemum.

ONEDAYATA TIME

“I’mconfidentI canmakeit work

bymyself,butI trynottothink

aboutmorethanjustthedayin

frontofme,”saysKim.“Ididn’t

falloutoflovewithVaughn– it

wasmorea casethatwegrew

intodifferentpeople.What’s

importantformenowisto

havenodramasandformykids

tobehappy.

“I’mnotlookingforanother

relationship.Whowouldwant

totakeona femalewitheight

children?ButI dohopeI’llget

myhappily-ever-after.”

Words:

Natalee

Fuhrmann.

Picture

with

Vaughn:

Kristina

Soljo/bauersyndicaiton.com.au.

hen Kim Tucci found

G MY

UM!’

‘I thoughtI’dsnap

outofit.Nothing

hasfeltstable

inmylifesince’

SHOCK

MARRIAGE

SPLIT