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“I’m sick to death of people asking me how I’m doing,” – Oleksandr and Anastasia Merkulova are parents to five children who were born on the same day and reside in the city of Partizanske (Prymorya). How are the lives of a family of young “five-year-olds” going?
There are five kids waiting for you outside, so come on out.
At their first ultrasound, Anastasia and Oleksandr Merkulov, who had previously had a miscarriage, were informed: “You will have triplets!” The news was joyfully delivered to the couple, who weren’t very surprised. In practically every generation of Anastasia’s family, twins and triplets were born.
It’s true that the doctors said one of the infants could suffer a heart attack. We had just started living a Christian lifestyle at that point, and in this circumstance, Anastasia adds, we made the decision to completely trust God.
The physicians discovered that there were actually four children in the 16th week, not three. Since a quadruple pregnancy is challenging and risky for both the mother and the children, Anastasia claims that the physicians offered to “remove” one of the children. They definitely stated to Merkulov that they had no intention of killing any of the kids.
Since her second trimester, Anastasia has been kept under observation in hospitals so that she is constantly in the care of medical professionals.
– The doctors were really helpful from a medical standpoint, but from a psychological standpoint, only one doctor stood by me and continually monitored me. The others were terrified that kids “can be born freaks” and that you generally had to use your brain.
They would point at my temple and ask, “What are you thinking, why do you need this?” each time I visited a new hospital.
They would not have allowed me to reach seven months and would have had a caesarean section sooner if they had known right away that there were five, as the doctor later informed me. However, the children stand to gain from each additional day in their mother’s belly.
The fifth child remained unnoticed until after birth, hiding beneath his siblings and brothers. A bolstered medical staff was responsible for performing births under general anesthesia. Anastasia took a long time to recover from anesthesia; her situation was challenging; she lost a lot of blood, and the bleeding didn’t stop for two days.
– The surgeon who performed the procedure on me in the perinatal facility of Vladivostok said to me as he pulled me from anesthesia, “Come on, come out, come out, there are five children waiting for you.” “How about five?” I ask. I had on four. “Don’t you need a fifth?” she asks. I reply, “Why not? We’ll take them all; they are all mine. All of us were waiting for you; we genuinely love you all. On the third day, after regaining some consciousness, I was wheeled over to the kids.
The children spent time in intensive care before being hospitalized and gaining weight. The youngest child was born weighing 1 kg 370 g and was released weighing 1 kg 800 g.
Closer to the 30th week, purchases of second-hand strollers, cribs, and other essential equipment started. While in the hospital, Anastasia searched the Internet for everything and then gave her husband the information so he could go shopping. Two strollers for twins and four cribs. Therefore, prior to discharge, only one cot and a stroller needed to be purchased.
Friends drove a minivan to pick up the newborns from the maternity hospital; later, Merkulov acquired his own vehicle.
The regime is the only aid.
Oleksandr’s grandmother, who was also his mother and resided with Merkulov, assisted for the first two months.
The infants were nursed exclusively up until 3.5 months old, at which point supplemental food was introduced.
– Only one child breastfed, so I pumped and fed from a bottle rather than torturing the kids or myself. Then, when children ate complementary foods, we fed them in turns; they were already aware of their turn and didn’t become upset. Even then, they didn’t act outraged. Maksym and Matvyi, the two that made the loudest noises, were fed before the other animals. Our smallest children, Raisa and Saveliy, had trouble eating and throwing up, so we fed them gradually over the course of an hour or even a half.
The Merkulovs closely adhere to the rules of the system. You must have food, exercise, and sleep all at specific times in order to function.
Children take turns getting showered. When they were very young, Anastasia waited in the room with other kids while grandmother and Alexander bathed them: one brings – takes away, the other bathes. Now, the man picks up a child, washes it, gives it to Anastasia, who is seated with other kids, dresses it in a diaper and pajamas, and puts it to bed. Consequently, everyone in turn, beginning with the loudest.
In turn, each child gets dressed for the street, beginning with the noisiest and most agitated.
Oleksandr had not yet taken leave to care for the children when the grandmother left when the babies were two months old, thus Anastasia was left alone with them for the entire three-month period.
Considering that we live in our own home and had to heat the stove as well, I’m not sure how I managed to survive. They walked for three hours in the winter after I dressed the kids and opened the window in the room. She shut the windows and dashed to the stove because the home was obviously fatigued at this point.
The majority of Merkulov’s day is spent dealing with children’s issues. But there is also time in the evening to converse. Additionally, the government supports this.
After the kids go to bed (exactly at nine o’clock), we will have two hours to peacefully make dinner and have a conversation.
While one spouse is currently caring for the children, the other cooks when it is convenient for them both. And occasionally, for instance, Oleksandr performs repairs, Anastasia prepares meals, and adjacent children engage in supervised play.
Babies also sleep in different ways. When their teeth are cut and kids cry at night, they may not always sleep well. After then, it’s already good if we sleep for three hours.
In general, it appears to me that kids who grow up together are less sensitive to other kids’ shouts. They occasionally all start screaming at once, in which case my husband and I jump from cot to cot.
Children typically become ill at the same time; once, all five of them were admitted to the hospital with their mother.
Babies gradually learn to control their surroundings. The Merkulov family has it simpler in this regard because they own their home and dad fenced in a secure area of the yard for them to walk. However, there isn’t enough room for them since they want to learn more and more about the world.
Children are trying to sneak in somehow, so you need to keep a vigilant watch out. In the sense that nursing is no longer an option, it has gotten simpler. And it’s a major plus that the kids are leaving soon. It will be best if they “get off my hands” because I can’t drag older kids, especially two, plus I have a spinal hernia. Yes, they will begin to flee by running, but we have nowhere to hide; instead, we have secured our yard as much as we can.
I look after and iron all children’s clothing.
In the past eleven months, Anastasia has grown more relatable to daily life and no longer wanders around with a rag in her hand, continually wiping and scrubbing something. Become dirty? Nothing, it can wait until Anastasia cleans the floor in the evening. You strive to keep the floor tidy, but you now realize that you also need to take care of yourself and would rather spend more time with the kids than cleaning the floor. Beginning with the babies’ birth, Anastasia has only ever continued to iron all of the children’s clothing.
– I expect the kids to be tidy and clean. It is preferable to pat ten times, especially if there are five kids. I do care. However, I’d rather spend thirty minutes calmly ironing.
Anastasia had to accept the truth that kids learn about the world through their taste buds—or, more accurately, by putting what they saw in their mouths.
– When she was previously anxious, she prevented anything from licking the inedible and massaged her hands with wet napkins till she felt sick. But after breaking her heart, she occasionally started to give up her positions. They tested my sand near the sea, for instance, here. She is a responsible young lady in this place, including Raya, from whom I had no idea such a thing would happen.
Even at eleven months old, each child has an own personality.
– Twins Both Matvii and Hnat exude serenity and gentleness. They enjoy being hugged, stroked, and kissed. Savely, on the other hand, is not a big fan of grace. Playing with him is crucial for his wellbeing. However, he begins snorting and swearing if you kiss him. Maxim expresses all five emotions at once. He constantly has problems, everything is wrong, and he is angry. Thanks to him and the way he screamed, we understood what colic is! If anything doesn’t go his way, he still shouts, and possibly all the neighbors can hear him. Raisa is a smart, trouble-free young lady. She has a lot of playing time. She adores her father dearly, and she owes everything to him.
Anastasia is concerned because it is sometimes impossible to give everyone the attention they require. Even with dad present, they all wanted to take their hands at once, but you can’t take everyone’s hands at once. The parents then divert the children’s attention with a combined game and various activities.
Yes, we are making every effort to help my husband. Try not to try, though; focus on one at a time rather than on all five at once, which would squeeze him and cause zasyusyukivaya.
Kids enjoy playing with each other. For instance, during a chase. Some of them are escaping from their parents as quickly as they can, some on still-weak legs and others on all fours. They enjoy riding in both autos and tricycles.
It happens frequently that while everyone is out on a stroll, one child suddenly has a large mess in their diaper, forcing everyone to stop, change, and wait for the other children.
You change, while others sit, play, and wait. Even young kids, in my opinion, seem to comprehend that it is challenging for us. They act considerably better when I’m alone myself with them than when Dad is there.
For Merkulov’s immunization, they make an effort to bring along additional adults—relatives and friends—so that each child has one or two offspring.
– Someone is weighing, measuring, and already receiving a vaccination. Children scream after vaccinations, of course, so what? Calm them down. accustomed to it.
Weary of hearing “How are you doing?”
Anastasia chuckles as she states that parents’ interests are important. Dad works as a carpenter and fixes the house to take a break from the stresses of teaching, and mom tends to the garden. Anastasia also updates her blog on Instagram, where she writes about her life and solicits help from other triplet parents.
The family traveled to the Sea of Japan, an hour’s drive away, for the first time in August. After loading the kids into the minivan, they left to let them play on the sand. That is, they ran; the babies are eleven months old and only started to walk; this is still being said too loudly. They gently dropped off everyone after arriving right on the shore without worrying that the kids would flee. Everyone enjoyed the sea, with the exception of Maxim, who sobbed and pleaded.
If there was anything Anastasia had grown weary of during these months, it was nonstop foolish questions. She visited a spa this summer along with her kids and a friend.
– When we got there, we cleaned everything and put down our own carpets so the kids could relax. Therefore, on any pretense, interested folks came to us while wearing the shoes they wear to walk down the street. I wonder if that’s what they expected to see.
When “How are you doing?” is uttered 100 times per day. – draining. And they wryly inquire. Maxim’s teeth were cutting, so I went to make a sanatorium card and took three along with me. The others also began to complain since they were sleepy and exhausted. So a man with a young child approached and asked.
Why are you struggling? Have we got a choice? You simply go and accomplish it with God’s assistance.