A young mother who gave birth to quintuplets naturally has revealed the one rule around toilet training she wished she had known before starting, and the helpful parenting tricks she swears by.
Kim Tucci, who is based in Perth, had three children four years ago before she became pregnant with quins – the odds of which are stacked against the average mother at one in every 55 million.
The 30-year-old, who recently celebrated the quins fourth birthday, appeared on The Morning Show on Thursday to discuss what happened after the initial ‘shock and excitement’ of conceiving five children at once.
Kim Tucci, who is based in Perth, had three children four years ago before falling pregnant with quins (all eight children pictured)
‘The early days are so much of a blur. I was lucky in the first year because we had a lot of help,’ she said (the quintuplets pictured)
‘The early days are so much of a blur. I was lucky in the first year because we had a lot of help. After they turned one we started to cut back on having volunteers and care,’ Kim told hosts Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies.
She now has to organise their lives with ‘military precision’, to ensure they are all ready for school on time, but their six hours in the classroom gives Kim a moment to look after herself.
Brimming with ‘tricks’ for parents to help raise their children the mother-of-eight said she only wish someone had told her about the intricacies of toilet training before her quins reached that age.
‘You need to remove everything from around the toilet area before you start training. Loo rolls, the brush, toys… because they will take anything and put it in there,’ she said.
Brimming with ‘tricks’ for parents to help raise their children the mother-of-eight said she only wish someone had told her about the intricacies of toilet training before her quins reached that age
She said the children went through as many as ’30 pairs of undies each day’ while they were learning to use the toilet
She said the children went through as many as ’30 pairs of undies each day’ while they were learning to use the toilet.
‘You should keep nappies absolutely everywhere – including the car and the garage,’ she said.
‘There are times when I haven’t had enough on me and there has been a poo explosion.’
It’s not just toilet training where Kim has a few tricks up her sleeve.
She also swears by soaking her kids’ clothing in boiling water for several hours to get rid of berry stains.
Kim swears by soaking her kids’ clothing in boiling water for several hours to get rid of berry stains (the quintuplets pictured)
The mum keeps talcum powder in the car to get rid of any stray sand that ends up on her quintuplets (pictured) after a trip to the beach
Kim has also learned how to best budget for her little ones – confessing she only spends $350 on feeding her family of 10 each week (the kids pictured at the table)
‘One of the best things I’ve picked up is keeping some talc in the car for after a day at the beach,’ Kim said.
‘You just rub it on their sandy bodies and they won’t carry it into the car with them.’
Kim has also learned how to best budget for her little ones – confessing she only spends $350 on feeding her family of 10 each week.
‘I usually do a big shop at the weekend and go to Coles, Woolworths and Aldi to make sure I buy from the cheapest supermarket,’ she said.
‘I also buy all of our fruit and vegetables from a local market, as it’s cheaper.’
Kim said the items that go down fastest in her household are what you might expect: bread, milk and cheese.
‘We probably go through eight or nine loaves of bread a week, 60-70 pieces of fruit, 20 litres of milk and a giant block of cheese,’ she said.
‘We probably go through eight or nine loaves of bread a week, 60-70 pieces of fruit, 20 litres of milk and a giant block of cheese,’ she said
‘But I get the 85 cent bread instead of the $4 option. You know what? They’re not going to know the $4 stuff.’
The mum-of-eight said she is ‘lucky’ insofar as none of her children are fussy eaters.
‘But I do have a recipe up my sleeve that ensures they eat all the vegetables they might complain a bit about,’ she said.
Kim said if she can’t be bothered to properly cook one night, she’ll simply heat up some spaghetti, chuck all of her leftover vegetables including sweet potato, pumpkin, carrot and zucchini into the oven with their skins on and then whizz them up in the blender.
‘I turn that into a pasta sauce and add some meat sometimes and they have no idea they’re getting so much veg,’ she said.
She also likes to get ahead of the breakfast rush – by preparing big batches of porridge that just need to be heated up in the morning and ensuring all the bowls and spoons are ready the night before.
Kim (pictured) said if she can’t be bothered to properly cook one night, she’ll simply heat up some spaghetti, chuck all of her leftover vegetables including sweet potato, pumpkin, carrot and zucchini into the oven with their skins on and then whizz them up in the blender
Kim said she is always asked whether the quins were IVF, and she has to go into the ‘whole story that no, they were completely natural, and it was a one in 55 million chance’
Questions from strangers are part and parcel of having quintuplets and three other children, but Kim said there is one question she gets more than any other.
‘Everyone asks whether the quins were IVF,’ she said.
‘And I have to go into the whole story that no, they were completely natural, and it was a one in 55 million chance.’
People also ask the 30-year-old if she is coping a lot.
‘It’s hard to answer that one as I don’t always feel as though I’m coping,’ Kim said.
‘But I have to make the most of my situation.
‘I have found over the past few years that I burn out if I keep going, so now if the quins are having some quiet time, I will leave the dishes and whatever else needs doing and go for a nap.
‘There is always something that needs doing, but I have to schedule time for myself. Plus, the kids are really good.
‘A few months ago, I was having a really bad day and crying while I was washing up, and my 12-year-old and eight-year-old saw and said they wanted to help.
‘I’m lucky that they are so well behaved.’