A mum who changed up to 40 nappies a day while caring for her quintuplet babies has confessed that raising the five troublemakers has been anything but dull as they now celebrate their 10th birthday.
Picture shows the family, undated. Quintuplets from Santos, Brazil, turned 10. Note: Image is a screenshot from video. (Newsflash/NX)
Arthur, Melissa, Lais, Giulia and Gabriela, from Santos, on the coast of Sao Paulo, in Brazil, are famous in the country after their mother's pregnancy made national headlines.
Cleaning assistant Karina Barbara Barreira, 45, and valet Joao Biagi Junior, 46, had been trying to conceive for five years.
And with the help of medicine to increase her ovulation, she soon became pregnant, with doctors telling her that she was carrying five babies.
The birth was followed by at least 11 doctors, with the first few years proving exhausting.
But Karina told local media that thankfully, the routine of changing 40 nappies a day and feeding the children eight times a day has now been replaced with bedtimes and smartphone time.
Karina said: "These 10 years have been quite hectic. It was a real rollercoaster with many challenges because we are parents of quintuplets and first-time parents. We learned one day at a time."
She added: "Now, they are older and the concern is the education part, because today there are so many bad things happening that we are scared."
Picture shows the quintuplets, undated. Quintuplets from Santos, Brazil, turned 10. Note: Private photo taken from social media. (@quintuplosdesantos/Newsflash/NX)
Despite being born at the same time, the quintuplets all have different personalities.
Arthur, who is the only boy, told his mum that he does not like having four sisters and would like his parents to get pregnant with a brother.
While Lais wanted to have an identical sister to switch places with and prank people, and Melissa said she did not like having to divide everything between five people.
Karina said: "She means financially, because there's no way we can fulfill everyone's wishes."
Giulia and Gabriela are identical because they were the only ones born from the same placenta.
They are the ones who most enjoy being quintuplets and have the greatest affinity among their siblings.
Karina said: "They all love [being quintuplets] and at the same time they hate it. But, whenever we see them, they are always together, either playing or fighting because they do fight a lot."
Picture shows the quintuplets, undated. Quintuplets from Santos, Brazil, turned 10. Note: Private photo taken from social media. (@quintuplosdesantos/Newsflash/NX)
Karina said that she would be throwing a big party on Sunday, 13th April, but admits that planning it has been a challenge since none of the siblings could agree on a single theme.
The party was set to feature two primary themes: the Disney character Stitch and Brawl Stars, a mobile game.
Karina said: "It's a joy to see that we've come this far, strong. In 10 years, we're no longer the same people, we're a little older.
"But it brings us a lot of joy to see them in good health, growing and learning every day."
(Joseph Golder/newsX)