Maxine and Jake Young of Berks County, Pennsylvania, had a son named Henry in December 2019, bringing their total number of children under the age of 10 to nine.

Following the adoption, the couple decided to try for another child, but they got a rude awakening when Maxine became P with four children, bringing their family to 11 in just three years.

The pair knew they wanted to start a family as soon as they married in May 2016.

«Maxine has always wanted to be a foster parent and has always dreamed of having a large family with both biological and adopted children,» Jake explained. I was all in and loved the thought of having a house full of love, laughter, and maybe even a little mayhem!»

They do, however, have a little more love and chaos than they anticipated.
On July 28, 2017, the couple completed their adoptive parenting training and adopted three siblings. The children were four, two, and eleven months old at the time, and they were reassigned a month later. A fourth sibling, an infant G, entered.

«We were trying to get a child into our family at the time,» Maxine explained. Before giving birth to our son, Henry, in October 2018, I experienced three losses, a chemical pregnancy, and one cycle of IVF and IUI.»

The couple legally adopted Henry’s four siblings on December 20, 2019, exactly a year after he was born.

Maxine said: “It was chaotic. We went from zero to five in less than a year.”

The couple thought their family of seven was complete, but Maxine realized she was P again just weeks after finalizing the adoption – this time, without even employing any in vitro fertilization.

«I didn’t even think I could get P without IVF or IUI, the things we have to do with our son,» Maxine said. I recall texting my spouse and exclaiming, ‘Wow! Oh my goodness,»

Then they were on the moon, knowing Maxine was having four children rather than one.

Silas Ledger, Theo Alexander, Beck can, and Cecilia Hudson, all weighing 3 to 4 pounds, were born to the parents at 32 weeks.

Jake said: “Fortunately, they all did a great job and we are really grateful.

Meeting babies is an indescribable moment. All the hardships of the past few months were immediately forgotten, the pain and stress didn’t matter, in that moment everything we went through was worth it.”