The normally petite Bobbi McCaughey measured 55 inches around when she gave birth to septuplets at 30 weeks and four days into her pregnancy. That's twice the normal for a full term of 40 weeks - and nearly as big around as she is tall.
When she was sitting, her swollen belly nearly reached her knees."I just started growing so much faster - I could feel it," McCaughey said on a "Dateline NBC" segment that aired Tuesday night. "It was scary, you know, watching the stretch marks go ever so higher and wider and just thinking, how much longer can this body keep going?"
McCaughey's four boys and three girls - the only living septuplets in the world - continued to show signs of improvement Tuesday.
Natalie Sue, the second-smallest of the seven, was removed from her ventilator at about noon and upgraded to fair condition. Kenneth Robert, the oldest and heaviest, was the only other sibling in fair condition and has been breathing without a ventilator since Friday, two days after the children were born by Caesarean section.
Their conditions were unchanged Wednesday, as were those of their five siblings, who remained in serious condition. Joel was able to breathe on his own for a few hours Sunday before he grew tired and was placed back on a respirator.
Though he's been grinning ear to ear in public appearances since the septuplets were born, Kenny McCaughey was initially shocked that his wife was carrying seven fetuses.
"I said, `how many?' " McCaughey said. "She goes, `Seven,' and I go, `Arrrgghhh!' Then I go, `No, no, no, no. Are you serious?' "
Bobbi McCaughey said they both experienced "sheer terror," but "it didn't take very long, a few weeks for the shock to wear off and get used to the idea that we're going to have a very big family."
The family has repeatedly spoke of the faith that got them through the pregnancy, but Bobbi McCaughey said there were moments of doubt.
"First, it was just like, `God, why have you done this to us?' Like it was something that was wrong," she said.
The morning of the delivery, when Bobbi McCaughey felt "like death warmed over," faith did not come so easily to the expectant mom.
"We had prayed for so long that everything would be OK, and we're supposed to pray believing, but sometimes the believing comes real hard," she said.
She told Dr. Paula Mahone, who delivered the septuplets, that aborting a few fetuses in order to reduce the risk to her and other fetuses was out of the question.
"I just let her know up front that selective reduction was not an option for us," Bobbi McCaughey said. "And that I didn't want to be going to a doctor who was going to hound us each week about how dangerous this was and we really shouldn't be doing it.
"Any child is a gift from God no matter whether it's one at a time or seven at a time," she said.
The McCaugheys said they could already sense inklings of what the babies might become.
Kenneth is a leader. Brandon is stable. Nathan is calm. Alexis doesn't like noise. Natalie might be the prettiest. Joel is a fighter.
Kelsey, the smallest, has a temper.
"She's probably the most - and I say this with love - the most pathetic-looking one because she is so tiny," Bobbi McCaughey said.
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Additional Information
Trust fund set up
A trust fund has been established for the McCaughey septuplets of Carlisle, Iowa, at First Bank Iowa, a subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp.
Anyone wishing to contribute to the fund may drop a check off at any U.S. Bank location in Utah. Or checks may sent to the McCaughey Babies Fund, First Bank Iowa, 120 First St., P.O. Box V, Carlisle, IA 50047-0721.
Cash and in-kind donations will not be accepted. Donations to individuals are not tax deductible, according to Dottie Loader of U.S. Bank in Nevada, who may be contacted at 702-688-3563 for more information.