Melissa and Rosemary introduce their new babies to KATHERINE CHATFIELD.
Melissa Keevers and Rosemary Nolan beam as they cradle baby son Noah in their arms. But Noah isn’t the only new addition to the family. He’s big brother to fellow quintuplets Charlie, Eireann, Evie and Abby. Same-sex Brisbane couple Mel, 27, and Rosie, 22, have waited to meet the babies since they revealed to Woman’s Day last October they were expecting quins, conceived with a US sperm donor. “We got very teary when they were born,” Rosie smiles. “It was such a journey before they arrived that when we actually met them we realised what it was all for.”
The babies are still tiny after being born at 26 weeks, four days. “In the days leading up, I knew it was coming,” Mel says. “I had more and more contractions. At one point I spent three days in the birthing suite – they wouldn’t let me leave in case it happened!
“On January 2 at 10.30pm I was having contractions, and at 11pm the doctor examined me and told me to call Rosie because I was going to have the babies.” Rosie laughs and says, “I was running around like a headless chicken! I was in shock thinking it was actually going to happen.” “She says she didn’t speed to get to the hospital but she arrived in record time!” adds Mel.
With a team of 25 hospital staff assembled, Mel was wheeled to theatre for a C-section. “I wasn’t nervous about the procedure,” she says. “I just wanted them to be born OK. I didn’t take any risk for myself into account.” Fortunately, the five babies – two boys and three girls – were born between 2.06am and 2.11am on January 3, in an operation that ran like clockwork.
“Noah came first, and then a minute later was Charlie,” Mel says. “Then after another minute came Eireann, and then Evie and Abby. Abby was the smallest because she was sitting lowest in me, so she had the weight of the others on top of her.”
