Christmas came early for Zac and Brittney Wolfe of St. Marys in Pennsylvania, who went from waiting to become parents to becoming a party of six this year.
After adopting their daughter Charlie Ann in July, Brittney gave birth to triplets from donated embryos in October. “We always dreamed of having a big family, we just didn’t realize it was going to happen all at once,” Zac, 31, tells PEOPLE.
The father of four adds: “Our Christmas will be one for the books.”
Son Knox and daughters Noah and Navia – who spent nearly 50 days in the neonatal intensive care unit – returned home earlier this month to a house where the halls were already decked out in preparation for the holidays.
Wolfe pack – triplets Knox, Noa and Navie with sister Charlie.
courtesy of The Wolfe Family and Jayna Cunningham Photography
“Christmas is my thing. I love it,” says 33-year-old Brittney. “The Christmas tree is up and the children’s room is together. And gifts. We have gifts.”
Zac adds that preparing the house for the holidays and bringing the triplets home has been a “stress reliever” for his wife.
“She was in intensive care every day, and I was there every day I could after work,” says Zac, who works in quality control at Meco Industries. “So when we were home in the evening, she turned on the lights outside.”
A baby born weighing less than 1 lb. Go home in time for the holidays: ‘The best Christmas present ever’
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2)/wolfe-family-12152371-9321e2cdcaa942ebbd8d92cb4efa3d7b.jpg)
Triple Wolfe.
courtesy of The Wolfe Family and Jayna Cunningham Photography
Four cots had to be modified to accommodate Zac’s wheelchair. At the age of 19, he was involved in a truck rollover accident that resulted in a C5-C6 spinal cord injury and made him a quadriplegic.
Brittney, who was only his friend at the time of the accident, was his constant support. The two fell in love and got married in 2015. They knew right away that they wanted to start a family, but they predicted that there would be obstacles.
After struggling with fertility issues for years, the couple decided to try embryo transfer last December. “We actually got pregnant but unfortunately miscarried in January,” says Brittney.
However, she quickly jumped into preparing her body for another transfer attempt. Two triplets were obtained from eggs frozen in 2021, and another from an egg frozen in 2011.
Around that time, the couple received a phone call from a neighbor who knew a woman who wanted to give her child up for adoption.
In March, they joined the women at a restaurant, where the mother-to-be asked if they wanted to adopt her child. They agreed. Name of the restaurant? at Charlie’s. In April, they did the embryo transfer, and after just a few weeks, they found out that Brittney was pregnant.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(499x0:501x2)/wolfe-family-12152373-173767f8ceda44bbb65ede977a4c5370.jpg)
Brittney and Zac Wolfe with children Noah, Knox, Navia and Charlie.
courtesy of The Wolfe Family and Jayna Cunningham Photography
Through it all, Zac has undergone years of rehabilitation to recover to the point where he is physically able to care for his babies.
“After the injury and moving forward, I overcame a lot of obstacles. But being a parent was what I was really nervous about because I didn’t know how I was going to do some things,” says Zac. “Getting Charlie off the ground, moving her off the couch, changing her… I didn’t know if I could, but I found a way.”
Zac adds that he has learned that he can do anything he needs to do, just in a different way. Before the triplets came home, Zac took care of Charlie all day by himself.
“It was a great relief for me,” he says. “I’ve been training with Charlie and now we have three more.”
Couple carrying each other’s baby thanks to reciprocal IVF, born days apart: ‘We were very lucky’
This year’s Christmas will be a little subdued for the newly married family of six, but still full of joy.
“Unfortunately we’re boycotting all of our family gatherings just because they’re so small,” says Brittney. “We don’t want to risk them getting sick.”
Christmas will still include visits from the couple’s parents, who live within 10 minutes of them, and their grandparents. “They’ll be able to cuddle the babies more,” she says. “Everyone gets a child. There is plenty to go around.”
“This year has surpassed all of our years together,” adds Zac. “It’s been a very happy year and we look forward to what next year brings.”
If you want to follow the Wolfe Pack’s journey, you can follow them on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education