The average American family has about 2 kids; however, it’s important to keep in mind that this is average. All of the families with only one child and all of the families with multiple children are playing into that average as well.
Some people know long before they get married that they never want to have children. Other couples decide they want to have a big family, and we’re not just talking four or five kids big. We’re talking double digits.
Kimberly Alarcon grew up in a big family. There were 18 kids in her home. Ten of them were her mom’s biological children, and 8 of them were adopted. Kimberly explained to TODAY, “Having a packed house is normal for me. Not only were there 18 of us, but then we also had our friends coming over. Sometimes we had 30 kids over at once.”
Alarcon’s husband, John Alarcon, did not grow up in a big family. He had one brother. The two child family he grew up in was more of the typical size of an American family, but he wished that he were part of a bigger family.
When Kimberly and John got married, they didn’t originally plan to have a big family. Kimberly explained, “We were done at three singles.” Then she got pregnant again, and they found out she was having twins. She said, “It was shocking because, to be honest with you, we never planned.”
Now the couple has 10 biological children including three sets of twins. They are 17-year-old Brittney, 13-year-old Sarah, 10-year-old Hunter, 6-year-old twins Zachary and Zoey, 4-year-old twins Olivia and Oliver, 3-year-old King, and newborn baby twins Kenzy and Kenzley.
The Alarcons love their big family. Kimberly explained, “Our home is full of love.” She added, “It’s a handful, but we are grateful.”
John has no regrets about having a big family. In fact, Kimberly says he wants to have more and more kids.
While it is not typical for an American family to have 10 children, it is even more unusual for a family to have multiple sets of twins without the help of fertility drugs.
Dr. Angela Silber is the chief of maternal fetal medicine at Westchester Medical Center, and she helped care for Kimberly during her pregnancies. She explained to TODAY, “Three sets of twins back-to-back without medication or any intervention is highly unusual.” She added, “It’s pretty incredible.” Silber told FOX, “It’s not uncommon to see someone who’s had infertility treatments to have triplets or two sets of twins, but somebody that did not have infertility treatments at all, like Kimberly, and to have three sets of twins back-to-back, is very uncommon.”
Kimberly’s most recent set of twins was born in April 2022. Originally, the twins were triplets, but Kimberly miscarried one of the babies early in the pregnancy. In an Instagram post, Kimberly wrote, “Kenzy and Kenzley started their journey as a trio but unfortunately while at the doctor’s office I miscarried who I believe was my boy Kent.” She told GMA, “While in the doctor’s office after she examined me and everything and she told us it was triplets, I went to the restroom and that’s when I lost one.”
The Alarcons’ children love being part of a big family too, and they were excited to meet their youngest siblings.
Kimberly’s children are her “world.” She explained, “My kids changed me and made me who I am. Everything that I do, I do for my kids.”