Seven babies don’t just generate a lot of laundry but use on average 52 diapers a day between them, and guzzle through around 42 bottles as well.
This was costing the McCaugheys a lot of money, and eventually, Bobbi and Kenny decided they needed to come up with a strategy for managing their large family.
The Quintuplets
In 1934 the Dionne quintuplets were born in Ontario, Canada. They were born to Elzire Dionne who came under much criticism for the way her babies were raised.
The children were the subject of much press attention which was sometimes described to be like a circus. The quintuplets who were grown adults by the time the septuplets were born warned the McCaugheys about having the press too involved in the children's lives and urged Kenny and Bobbi to try and be as private as possible.
Load After Load
As you can imagine, one newborn generates a lot of dirty clothes. Now think about how much mess seven babies can make.
The McCaugheys were reported to do an average of 17 loads of laundry a week, and since they had tried to keep their lives as private as possible, it meant many of the house chores, had been done by themselves. Luckily they had two washing machines and two dryers to help with the mountains of laundry.
Potty Training
Potty training was also going to be a lengthy challenge. With their first daughter Mikayla, they managed to potty train her within four days successfully.
With the septuplets, they knew it would take them a lot longer, perhaps even a few months to get them all properly potty trained.
Volunteers
They say it takes a village to raise a child and this was certainly the case with the septuplets. The McCaugheys would have around seventy volunteers helping with tasks around the house as well as caring for the little ones.
There would be approximately eight or nine people changing diapers, feeding, and generally making sure the babies were happy and cared for.