In 1997, She Got Septuplets — See What They Look Like 25 Years Later
It is 1997, and something truly extraordinary is about to happen. Bobby and Kenny were not just expecting twins or triplets; they were expecting septuplets. While the fact that Bobby was pregnant with septuplets was already very special, the fact that all of them survived was even more remarkable. This had never happened before in history, but it didn’t come easy and definitely not without cost. This is the touching story about a family who had to make some of the toughest decisions you could ever imagine and how they turned out.
The septuplets were not Bobby and Kenny MacCoy’s first pregnancy. They had a firstborn child, Michaela Marie. Bobby had a pituitary gland problem that is known to significantly affect a person’s fertility, so they considered their firstborn daughter to be a miracle child. After Michaela, the couple started their plans on having a second child. Due to Bobby’s pituitary gland issue, they had to seek medical advice to enhance their fertility. The doctor advised them to take Metrodin, a drug that enhances a woman’s fertility. With their plans in place, Bobby began taking the medication. Given that they had a successful single birth before, it was natural for the couple to expect another single baby.
However, when they went for a scan, they found out that they were expecting not one, but seven babies all at once. The news was surprising and exciting, but it was also incredibly stressful. The pregnancy posed great danger to both Bobby and the babies. It was slowly taking a toll on Bobby as it progressed. Imagine carrying seven developing children at once; even one can be challenging. Would they all survive? What about their infancy stage? How could the couple take care of seven infants to maturity? These were the questions running in the couple’s minds and the minds of others.
They had to make a tough decision. The doctors suggested that they consider having selective reduction. This meant that they would protect the healthy fetuses and do away with the weaker ones. In simple words, they would abort the more fragile fetuses and protect those who looked as if they would reach full term. This would take away the risks caused by carrying seven babies at once, but the couple would have none of it. They were not going to choose which ones to follow through with over others. So, after much thought and discussion, they decided to proceed with the septuplet pregnancy.
After their decision, they received attention from everyone in the country. Some thought it was amazing for them to keep the babies, but some thought it was dangerous. However, Bobby and Kenny had made up their minds that they were going to keep their seven babies no matter what. Their decision sparked generosity from people nationwide. They even received a 5,000-square-foot house as a donation. They received a year’s supply of macaroni and cheese from Kraft and a year’s supply of diapers. If that wasn’t enough, people began offering help as nannies. In addition, someone offered a brand new van to the family that would comfortably fit the seven babies, their firstborn daughter, and the two parents. The family was also offered a yearly supply of groceries for ten people.
As weeks passed leading up to the birth of the seven babies, the couple’s experience was thrilling and stressful at the same time. However, they decided to stay positive as it was the best thing they could do for a safe delivery. It became even more surprising as the couple received news that they had to be in the hospital at thirty-one weeks. The doctors were concerned that labor would start early. Now came the most awaited time of their lives. As suggested, they were in the hospital at thirty-one weeks, trying their best to stay calm despite their worries. They were to deliver their babies through a cesarean section. All eyes were on them and the doctors. The couple was surprised, but they trusted the medical team and had faith that everything would work out just fine.
Bobby gave birth to the seven babies all in six minutes. Naming a single baby can be such a task for some people; now imagine seven babies all at once. Bobby delivered seven children: four boys and three girls. First, they named the heaviest weighing child Robert. The rest of the boys were named Kenneth, Nathan Roy, Joel Steven, and Brandon James. The girls were named Natalie Sue, Alexis Mary, and Kelsey Anne. As mentioned, everyone nationwide had different opinions about the pregnancy, but all were happy that all seven babies were alive and healthy.
Bobby and Kenny had to do their part in getting through the pregnancy, but they also needed medical assistance. The hospital staff kept a close watch on the couple as the pregnancy progressed. They ensured a successful outcome even as they waited for the due date. The whole hospital team was excited to make one of America’s most unique histories. After a few days since the delivery, the staff came together to take a photo of remembrance. Bobby and Kenny had to stay at the hospital for three months and ten days to allow the doctors and nurses to keep a close watch on them and the infants. This duration was significant for both the babies and their mother. Fortunately, when it was time to leave the hospital, all babies were alive and healthy.
When the couple was told to go to the hospital nine weeks before the delivery date, the media was unaware of it. However, when they later realized that the births were taking place at the Iowa Methodist Hospital located in Des Moines, they camped outside to try and capture exclusive photos of the septuplets shortly after their birth. Remember the 5,000-square-foot house that was gifted to the family? Unfortunately, the couple had to go to their old house first after leaving the hospital. They also had a police post outside their home to ensure that their children were entirely safe from the media or any other curious strangers.
As the family was back at home, their new house was getting ready. Once it was properly prepared, a ceremony took place to officially welcome the family into their new home. Lloyd Clark, the chairman of the Clark companies, was involved in the official opening of the house. As expected, the family was excited, and everyone involved was equally thrilled for the MacCoys to begin their new chapter. It was a case of pure blessings: seven babies, a year’s supply of diapers, groceries, a van, and a new house. The house would also have volunteer nannies to help the family take care of the children and the home as a whole.
The family thought that only local reporters were interested in their story, but surprisingly, they got nationwide attention within a month. In December 1997, after they had given birth to their seven babies, they were featured on the front cover of Time magazine. This put the couple and their children into the limelight, and more people got to know about their lives. After their interview with the magazine, the couple also got another full interview with ABC News PrimeTime. Since ABC News PrimeTime is a popular media outlet, the popularity of the MacCoys spread even further.
The more popular the family became, the more people had different opinions about them. Unfortunately, some of these opinions were not all positive. This was expected, yet as normal human beings, the parents were deeply hurt by some of the comments. For example, some people thought the couple was simply irresponsible for having seven babies. Still, some stated that the children would cause an environmental issue because of the supposed waste they would produce. The parents, however, were over the moon about their family and they would still love and keep their children despite what people said.
As expected, the criticism continued, causing emotional hurt. The parents searched for ways to avoid this issue. Luckily, a family who had delivered quintuplets had one piece of advice for them: “keep your eight children private from the world.” They saw the wisdom in this and decided to go with it. They only had one condition, though: they would make a single appearance once a year on the day of the septuplets’ birth. This was the best way to stay away from constant attention while still sharing their story, struggles, and success throughout the years in hopes of helping other parents.
They say experience is the best teacher, and it certainly was for the Dionne quintuplets. The quintuplets were born in Ontario, Canada, in 1934. Elzire Dionne, their mother, found herself under a lot of criticism. Some people even referred to the Dionne quintuplets as a “circus.” Her best bet was to keep her children as private as possible, and her decision helped the MacCoys.
Although the couple had decided to keep their large family private, it is said that they had to do seventeen loads of laundry each week. A single baby automatically increases your workload; what about seven of them? Fortunately, the MacCoys had two washing machines and two dryers to help. As for the other housework, they still had to get nannies or house help to aid them in raising seven babies at once. For a young couple, there needed to be a new strategy to survive their new routine. Aside from the laundry, the babies used an average of fifty-two diapers and forty-two bottles of milk each day. This meant using lots of cash every day.
Bobby and Kenny looked for strategies to manage expenses. One strategy was not to ditch breast milk; instead, Bobby decided she would feed her babies with breast milk until they were three months old, as formula for seven babies would be too expensive. Potty training is a complete nightmare for most people with toddlers. If it is a nightmare for a single baby, think about seven. It was therefore expected that everything involving the septuplets would take time. For example, with Michaela, it took only four days to completely potty train her, but with the septuplets, it took much more time.
Due to the workload, the family needed all the help they could get. Fortunately, there were always people working as volunteers. Seven to eight volunteers helped in diaper changes and bottle feeding. Volunteers were seen as “angels” for offering the much-needed help. It was heartwarming to see so many people coming forward. There were so many helping hands; for example, the workers from their new house construction were there to help with what they could afford. Among all the people that offered to help was their big sister Michaela. She knew her parents and siblings would need all the help they could get. She helped feed her little siblings and sometimes change their diapers with the help of a grown-up. What a wonderful big sister.
As mentioned, the family’s expenses shot upwards, so they needed to minimize them. One system involved buying everything in bulk. They also decided to buy their supplies from discounted sections. They implemented this strategy so well that they slashed their expenses efficiently, spending only $300 monthly on certain supplies. They also decided to start growing green foods. This helped them avoid buying green groceries, enabling them to save even more cash. Like any other baby, the septuplets also had many checkups with their doctors. Lucky for them, they had the van to take them around. Regular checkups ensured they grew up healthy and well cared for.
Creating a garden in your own backyard is an excellent way to reduce grocery expenses. Having a vegetable and fruit garden not only reduced costs but was also very healthy for them. As a parent, you are constantly concerned about what your child eats. The MacCoys were conscious of what they fed their eight children and thought a home garden would be an excellent idea. Fortunately, these babies loved their breakfast, which helped them grow healthier and stronger. After all, breakfast is often considered the most important meal of the day. Their love for breakfast required their parents to make a massive meal for ten members first thing in the morning.
Whenever siblings develop a strong bond, they also develop their own language, mostly known as cryptophasia. This phenomenon was without a doubt seen with the septuplets. When they became toddlers, they developed a language between themselves due to the bond they had developed. Often times, parents with twins find it difficult to buy correctly fitting clothing and shoes as each child grows at different rates. Having seven rapidly growing children made keeping track of sizes that much more difficult. Bobby and Kenny decided to dress the girls in matching outfits and the boys in their own matching outfits. All this clothing became expensive, but luckily a popular children’s clothing brand announced they would supply them with outfits until they were five years old.
The parents not only tried to be economical but also tried to teach their children about sharing. For instance, in one photo, the children are seen watching a birthday cake with only four candles yet there are seven children. This was a sign that the parents were teaching them about sharing, and evidently, the children were not bothered. If you have had a chance to see multiple-birth babies growing up, you would know that their personalities differ. It is the same for these septuplets. These seven children displayed different personalities. While others were calm and collected, some were totally mischievous. Yet, despite this, their parents still loved and cherished them all. For example, Brandon is considered stubborn and brave, while Joel and Natalie are both book lovers. While Kenny Sr. was overall a well-mannered guy, his son Kenny Jr. did not take after him; he was more of a naughty boy. Kenny Jr. was known to cause trouble from time to time, which is probably why Kenny referred to him as a “pint-sized explorer.”
If you have children, you know how difficult it is to ensure they are safe while taking them out. For the MacCoy couple, taking their children outdoors was difficult. First, they were always excited, and it is difficult to dress an excited child—imagine dressing seven of them. Yet the family did enjoy playing outdoors and going on family trips, including one to Walt Disney World. Despite their private life, they continued to get attention from media streams and prominent people. The septuplets were famous even before they were born. For example, the children had the attention of then-President Bill Clinton, who called the parents to congratulate them. He told Bobby that “once the children are in school, she could get a job running a major corporation” due to the organization required to raise septuplets. About six years later, President Bush got to meet them too.
If raising a single child can slowly rob you of your alone time, think about eight children. Surely the parents could not have time on their own when the kids were babies. However, when they were a bit older, Kenny and Bobby decided to set apart Fridays to be their “date nights.” This allowed them to have a good time together by themselves, which was healthy for the whole family. The children celebrated their eighth birthday in style, appearing back on the cover of Ladies’ Home Journal. The magazine also had a page where Bobby and Kenny answered questions. The public was definitely curious about how a couple managed to raise eight children.
The parents were given the option to create a reality TV show based on their lives, but they ultimately turned it down to reduce the publicity their children would have to face. There was an exception, however; they allowed cameras in only on their children’s birthdays to document milestones. In 2001, the MacCoy family was invited to meet with President Bush. This was the second time they met a U.S. President. The parents dressed their children spectacularly so they captured people’s attention as soon as they arrived. Their outfits were the perfect fit; after all, they were meeting the leader of the country.
The septuplets joined Carlisle High School in 2012. As usual, they got a lot of attention, but they handled it well, probably because they had been doing it all their lives. Soon enough, they joined the school’s band and became even more popular. They even started participating in school sports matches. As mentioned, they had different talents. The less sporty ones participated in the speech society and the choir, while the athletic ones joined wrestling and the cross-country team.
It is not easy feeding eight growing kids with different tastes. Their parents decided they would always do buffet meals. The meals included a dish that each of the children loved, so no child would be left out. The buffet meals were also fun to make since the septuplets were eager to help prepare the food. It’s always a great bonding experience to cook together as a family. For the septuplets, it wasn’t all roses while growing up. Premature births might result in developmental issues. In this case, two children, Nathan and Alexis, were born with cerebral palsy. Both had problems with coordination and movement.
Although the two children had issues with walking, Nathan taught himself to walk without aid. According to him, “he wanted to walk so he decided to train himself to do so.” Like her brother, Alexis was also determined. Although she still needs an aid to walk, Alexis has shown immense talent. She is great academically and ended up graduating high school in the top 15% of her class in 2013. She also won the Teen Miss Dreams Come True award. Despite the challenges, it’s great to see how successful and inspiring these children turned out to be.
Turning sixteen is a huge milestone. Having seven siblings celebrate their “sweet sixteen” together is even bigger. Sixteen typically equates to learning how to drive and obtaining a driver’s license. Just think of how chaotic it was teaching seven kids how to drive all at once. Unsurprisingly, the septuplets’ sixteenth birthday attracted even more media attention. Everyone was interested in knowing how they were doing. Kenny Sr. believed that if you want something, you have to work hard for it. In an interview, Kenny insisted that his parents taught him “that he should work hard to earn whatever it was he wanted in life.” He and his wife taught the same to their children. Having seven growing kids required the parents to share in the lesson of responsibility, ensuring each child felt loved and valued.
Turning eighteen was yet another great milestone. The septuplets, now young adults, were quite excited to graduate from high school. Despite being rare septuplets, they still did what most teenagers did and were excited to get to the other side of adult life. It was a relief in many people’s eyes as the teenagers stepped into adulthood. Like any other mother, Bobby became emotional seeing her babies graduating. Of course, she might choose to keep them by her side forever, but life would be different as they all went their separate ways. Bobby was very proud and blessed that her children had survived the pregnancy and infancy stage to become healthy adults. The likelihood of that happening is quite rare. As a mother, she had been with them for many years through cries and laughs, but now they would leave her to chase their own dreams.
The septuplets graduated in 2016. The moment was both emotional and thrilling. Their success was a great message to everyone; they proved they had what it takes to succeed. This was truly an incredible achievement as they proved all those who doubted them wrong. Their success is also a contribution of the determination and support of both their parents. Alexis and Kenny decided to stay close to home and enroll in a local college. Alexis wants to become a teacher, and her academic standing gives her an upper hand in making her dreams a reality. As for Brandon, he enrolled in the U.S. Army. Brandon had always wanted to become a soldier, and finally, his dream was coming true. After some training, Brandon has become an expert in carbine shooting and pistol.
Joel chose to study computer science and is excited about exploring a tech-centric field. Kelsey chose a completely different path, and we might be looking at the next big musician. Kenny Jr. also took a different route by becoming a carpenter. It was part of his bigger dreams as he grew up, and he is now doing a great job in the field. When the septuplets came into the world, they were promised a college education by the state of Iowa. Kelsey, Natalie, Joel, and Nathan took this opportunity to be admitted to Hannibal-LaGrange University in Missouri. Studying in Missouri meant they were going to be far away from their parents, but they still had the comfort of being together as siblings. Talk about an inseparable family.
The once-filled house is now empty, and Bobby and Kenny are left missing their once noisy home. Their eldest daughter, Michaela, has also left the nest. Bobby and Kenny are excellent examples of enjoying every moment of your kids growing up because those moments will one day become just a memory. The parents later considered downsizing and donated the big house to Ruth Harbor, a nonprofit organization that seeks to help young women with unplanned pregnancies. They could have sold the house and earned good money, but they chose to give back to society and “pay it forward” in honor of all the help they received.
As for the oldest child, Michaela, she is also doing well as she begins a lovely family of her own. Her sisters made very beautiful bridesmaids on her wedding day. Michaela’s wedding was truly a family milestone as everyone came together to play active roles, dawning formal attire and acting as bridesmaids and groomsmen. After her wedding, Michaela was blessed with a baby. As a gift to his big sister, Kenny Jr. the carpenter even built a kitchen table with shelves for his sister and brother-in-law as they began their new life together. The MacCoy family truly is blessed to have each other as their family continues to grow in the years to come.
