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On November 8, 1983 the Waltons’ lives changed so much that their story became known to almost or literally the whole world.
It was on that famous day that Janet gave birth to 6 children, who thereby became the first set of sextuplets in the world to survive birth in good health and well-being.
Janet remembers that it was an unusually warm autumn day and she was most afraid that she wouldn’t make it to the hospital. The car that was taking them to the hospital got stuck in a traffic jam because a carpet had fallen out of a truck.
More than 30 years later
Today, more than 30 years after the birth, one of their daughters gave them a long-awaited grandchild. When the new grandmother took her in her arms, she couldn’t believe that her granddaughter weighed 3.3 kg, which was considered normal. When Janet gave birth, each of her daughters weighed just a little over 1 kg!
It’s funny that before that the couple had thought about adopting children from an orphanage. No supplements or medicines helped Janet, even though the doctors told them that they were both completely healthy.
The news of the pregnancy therefore came as quite a surprise. Whatever was to happen, they had no intention of turning their backs on their fate. Janet decided to devote herself exclusively to the children and Graham took a whole year off to help his wife.
The girls spent the first six weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit. Then the parents could take them home, where the daily whirlwind began.
Sextuplets on the way home
It was constant care
Today, when her daughter says that the granddaughter didn’t want to sleep at night, Janet just smiles. For two years the couple, together with the six children, slept no more than a few hours a day.
11,000 diapers a year
They recently calculated that during the first year they had to buy their daughters at least 11,000 diapers. The husband still remembers how the whole house smelled of laundry detergent and baby powder.
Walks were challenging
On walks some of the children were in a double stroller and others were carried in their arms. If visitors arrived, the couple would give them the third stroller and they would all go for a walk.
A year after the daughters’ birth Graham returned to his job as an arranger. A few years later Janet also took a job at the hospital in the neonatal ward, where she worked until retirement.
The most interesting thing is that just a few months after Janet retired, her first granddaughter was born in the hospital.
This is how they look today
From the first days of her life the newborn granddaughter became the center of attention, after all the little one has, besides parents and grandparents, 5 aunts! The family meets regularly and the Waltons look forward to when their other daughters will also announce that they are expecting further additions to the family.
However, they are not yet planning to start families themselves, although they have nothing against children. But they are not determined to have sextuplets, as their mother did.
Although Janet could not imagine life with a swarm of children, she passed this test excellently and all of her daughters grew into successful women. For her selfless efforts in raising them, they gained the most precious things – a strong family and the love of all her daughters.
