<p>ADDITIONAL FOOTAGE<br></p><p>A mum who feared she would never get pregnant took infertility medication - and ended up with QUINTUPLETS.<br></p><p>Hannah Merton, 23, and husband Jacob, 24, feared she was infertile so she took medication to stimulate ovulation.</p><p>And it was more successful than they could ever have imagined.</p><p>She fell pregnant with FIVE babies, and Philomena, Evangeline, Meredith, Gideon and Elliot were born prematurely at just 25 weeks.</p><p>The teeny miracles weighed between 1lb 13oz and 1lb 4oz each, and had a tough early start.</p><p>The couple were devastated when the smallest quint, Meredith, died aged three days old, following a fatal brain bleed.</p><p>It wasn't until a YEAR later her four brothers and sisters were finally all reunited at home, because Gideon were kept in hospital, after suffering a collapsed lung.</p><p>They recently celebrated their second birthday, and despite the full-on job of looking after four young babies, mum Hannah said she "wouldn't change it for the world."</p><p>Stay-at-home mum Hannah from Akron, Ohio, said: "Having lots of children is scary, and it is crazy, but it is so much fun.</p><p>"I do have my hands full, that is true.</p><p>"But my heart is even fuller, I wouldn’t have it any other way.</p><p>"I suffered from infertility so I took medication to help me ovulate, and it worked better than we expected.</p><p>"We were told at the time I had a 1% chance of having triplets - nobody mentioned the chance of four, never mind five babies because it was so low.</p><p>"When I found out there were five I was in complete shock, and feeling every emotion you could possibly feel.</p><p>"Seeing them in the NICU was love at first sight but I couldn't bear to leave them behind, so finally bringing them all home was an amazing feeling.</p><p>"Having four babies to look after is very messy - I'm constantly cleaning - and it's chaotic and crazy and loud.</p><p>"People are always making comments that I 'have my hands full' - and I do - there are definitely times I think 'how in the world am I going to do this?'.</p><p>"But it's so rewarding and so much fun, and I wouldn't have it any other way."</p><p>Hannah and Jacob, a financial planner, began trying to get pregnant three years ago, but when they didn't fall pregnant, took medication to encourage ovulation.</p><p>In October 2019, a pregnancy test came back positive - and later doctors confirmed Hannah was carrying not one, but FIVE babies.</p><p>Hannah said: "It was very shocking when I found out I had five babies.</p><p>"I thought I was suffering with infertility!</p><p>"We'd been told the chance of triplets was 1% and we thought anything more than that would be virtually impossible."</p><p>Hannah was just five weeks into her pregnancy when she first was able to see her five babies on a scan - but she recalled her pregnancy rushing by.</p><p>At just 25 weeks pregnant, she was rushed into hospital on March 5, just a fortnight before she turned 21.</p><p>The five babies were delivered by caesarean section 15 weeks premature after doctors became concerned for their health.</p><p>The babies were so tiny - each one less than 2lb - and Hannah said they could fit in the palm of her hand.</p><p>The babies immediately needed to be hooked up to endless machines and wires to keep them alive.</p><p>Hannah said: "When I first saw them all, I was shocked, terrified and excited all at the same time.</p><p>"It was love at first sight but so scary seeing them attached to so many different tubes and monitors and wires."</p><p>Tragically, the first-time parents had to say goodbye to one of their daughters, Meredith, at just three days old following a fatal brain bleed which likely occurred during her birth.</p><p>The remaining four tiny babies - Philomena, Evangeline, Gideon and Elliot - had to spend varying lengths of time in NICU because they were too small and weak to go home.</p><p>Hannah and Jacob visited the tots in hospital every day as they fought to live - with Gideon suffering a collapsed lung and spending a long time on a ventilator.</p><p>By five months old, Philomena, Evangeline and Elliot had made it home, but Gideon remained in hospital.</p><p>He was unable to properly meet his siblings until he was a year old, when he finally grew strong enough to go home although remained on a ventilator.</p><p>On March 25 2021, Gideon was finally reunited with his siblings at home.</p><p>Hannah said: "Bringing them home was amazing but scary, it was the first time each of them had not been hooked up to monitors.</p><p>"Suddenly not being able to see their heart rate and oxygen levels was nerve-wracking, but also exciting.</p><p>"It was the first time that we were the ones properly taking care of them."</p><p>Since getting all four of the babies back home, Hannah and Jacob discovered the reality of looking after four tots at once.</p><p>It was made more of a challenge by the pandemic which left them with less support than they would have had.</p><p>Gideon still has breathing problems and a tracheostomy, and Evangeline has cerebral palsy.</p><p>But the young parents have taken the challenge in their stride - and say they embrace the chaos.</p><p>Hannah explained: "It's pretty much go-go-go every day - crazy, chaotic and loud.</p><p>"It's very messy, I'm cleaning my house non-stop.</p><p>"I clean one mess then turn around and there's another one appeared just behind me.</p><p>"But I like it that way - I grew up in a big family too - I was one of eight children."</p><p>The two girls, Evangeline and Philomena, share one bedroom while the boys, Elliot and Gideon, share another.</p><p>The parents keep organised thanks to a strict home schedule - naps, mealtimes and bath time occur at the same time each day.</p><p>Elliot and Philomena are both now on their feet and have learnt to walk and climb - making the parents' job that much more chaotic.</p><p>Hannah said: "There are definitely times each day where I think 'how in the world am I going to do this?'</p><p>"But I don't have another choice - stuff has to get done, so we get on with it."</p><p>But despite the chaotic mum life, Hannah says she wouldn't change a thing.</p><p>She and Jacob said they would even consider one day having another child one day.<br></p>