Perth mum of quintuplets overwhelmed by 150 strangers who volunteered to help care for newborns
A Perth blogger who gave birth to quintuplets in January has been overwhelmed by the support of her community, after 150 volunteers rallied together to help the young mum care for her growing family.
Kim Tucci, who has already has a son and two daughters, is now a mother of eight following the birth of her five newborns with her husband Vaughn.
Mrs Tucci took to her popular Facebook page, Surprised by Five, to announce the birth of her four daughters, Tiffany, Penelope, Beatrix and Allie, and her son, Keith, when she was just 30 weeks into her pregnancy.
Now, almost two months after giving birth, Mrs Tucci is about to open her doors to the help of 150 volunteers.
Perth and Districts Multiple Birth Association (PDMBA) advertised for "hands-on help" online, requesting “experienced” volunteers to assist with feeding, changing, preparing bottles and even folding the washing.
All applicants had to attend a four-hour workshop and be immunised against whopping cough.
PDMBA volunteer support program coordinator Krista Bingham said the teaming up volunteers for a single family was a first for the association.
"We're trying to organise a roster, so we're hoping to cover pretty much the whole day to be able to get some extra help in there for the parents," she told WA Today.
Some of the volunteers have had their own multiple births and Ms Bingham said ideally each helper would do between three to six hours per week.
"We have such a range of people, we've got a couple of ladies that had triplets themselves that are grown up now, lots of families with twins, lots of grandparents, lots of professionals as well - midwives, nurses, teachers," she said.
"The thing they all have in common is they all love babies and they all want to help."
Mrs Tucci shared her gratitude on her Facebook page in February, thanking her loyal followers for their love and support.
“The last few weeks have been frantic. However, I have been lucky enough to have an array of people behind me pushing me through. I can't say thank you enough for all the love and support everybody has given me and my family,” she wrote.
She also thanked the hospital for doing an “amazing job”.
Mrs Tucci hasn’t shared her babies with the world just yet, instead deciding to keep photos of her precious new additions private for a little while longer.
“We have decided to not share photos yet as it's the only thing our family has until they get to meet the babies,” she wrote online.
If PDMBA’s program is successful, they may extend its support to other multiple birth parents.
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