HGTV Star Jenny Marrs Had A Difficult First Pregnancy
Jenny Marrs, mom of five and part of the husband and wife team behind "Fixer to Fabulous," hasn't had the easiest road to parenthood. Ultimately, the couple has ended up with a full house and even fuller hearts as they travel the world and enjoy life in Bentonville, Arkansas, with their brood. But in the beginning, the couple thought they might never realize their dreams.
She and her husband, Dave Marrs, always knew they wanted children, and they weren't opposed to adoption. In fact, Jenny has previously stated that she wanted to adopt a child even if she could birth her own. Jenny noted in an interview with Kelly's Korner in 2016, "We struggled for years with infertility. In 2008, we jumped on a roller coaster when we started the process to adopt — doors slammed shut left and right. After another failed match, we decided to make one last ditch effort with fertility treatments and finally became pregnant with twin boys in the fall of 2009."
Later on, the Marrs welcomed adopted daughter Sylvie Marrs, though not before fighting tooth and nail to bring her home to the United States from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Still, while her adoption was emotionally taxing, it was Jenny's pregnancy that would take the most physical and mental toll.
She prayed for a miracle
When Jenny Marrs was just 29 weeks along with her twin sons, in the summer of 2010, she went into labor. It was months before her due date and much sooner than anyone expected or hoped the babies would arrive. She wrote in an Instagram post, "The doctors gave us the best-and-worst case scenarios (and both were soul-crushing) as I was rushed off the helicopter in Little Rock and wheeled under the fluorescent lights of the hospital hallway toward the ICU."
After being airlifted to the hospital, Jenny was given steroid shots in the hopes that the medication could help her sons' lungs mature quickly should she continue laboring. Fortunately, her medical team was able to keep her from giving birth too soon, and after a month, she was released from the hospital and given the all-clear to head home. Jenny notes, "One week after returning home, it was time." She delivered two happy boys, Ben and Nathan Marrs, on May 29, 2010, at 33 weeks into her pregnancy.
The "Hometown Takeover" co-host explained to People, "That first year with twins was really hard," as the boys were required to stay in the hospital with Jenny by their side. However, throughout the entire ordeal, she credits her faith for all the miracles during her pregnancy and birth. Writing on her post to celebrate the boys' 13th birthday, "[They] have had angels surrounding and protecting them every step of the way."
Her next pregnancy wasn't easy either
It was after the arrival of their twin sons that Jenny and Dave Marrs decided they wanted to pursue adoption again. They flew on more than one occasion to meet their daughter Sylvie Marrs in an orphanage in The Democratic of the Congo. The process was progressing smoothly until the country shut its borders to adopted kids being transported out. It was a heartbreaking period for the Marrs, who diligently contacted anyone and everyone in an effort to get their daughter home.
During that time, they were also shocked when they discovered Jenny was pregnant again. It doesn't seem like the couple was undergoing fertility treatments at the time, making this pregnancy a complete surprise. Jenny confessed to People it was a bittersweet time, explaining, "I wasn't able to really rejoice in the amazing news because we were so overwhelmed with sorrow that we couldn't get our daughter home."
Fortunately, Sylvie finally made it to the Marrs spectacular farmhouse in Arkansas two months after Charlotte Marrs was born (presumably complication-free). The Marrs would be blessed with another surprise miracle in 2018 when Jenny announced she was expecting her youngest son, Luke Marrs. In her blog, Blessings and Raindrops, the mom explained, "Never in a million years did I expect to welcome another pint-sized Marrs into the world." Today, blessings abound on the Marrs family farm.