The Arby nonuplets celebrated their fourth birthday!
Guinness World Records shared a new photo of the nine siblings, as the four boys and five girls celebrated their fourth birthday. The nine children posed with their parents, Halima Cissé and Abdelkader Arby.
In the Sunday, May 4, Instagram post, brothers Mohammed VI, Oumar, Elhadji, and Bah are seen alongside their sisters, Kadidia, Fatouma, Hawa, Adama, and Oumou. They have an older sister, Souda, 6.
They are the first known nonuplets — meaning nine children born at once — to survive birth. They also earned the Guinness World record for “the most children delivered at a single birth to survive.” They were born in a special care center in Morocco on May 4, 2021, per Guinness World Records.
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All nine are lined up next to one another in the first two images the organization shared. The third image includes all five daughters sitting next to one another, and the final photo includes Halima and Abdelkader smiling together.
“Today is a very special one for Mali couple Halima Cissé and Abdelkader Arby – their record-breaking nonuplets are turning four! 🎉,” the caption began. “What lovely little boys and girls they have become!”
Their mother, Halima, 29, told Guinness, ahead of the celebration, that “the children are all well, by the grace of God.”
“They have grown so much since their last birthday and the change is clearly visible in them all,” she said. “For their 4th birthday, we decided to celebrate in a grandiose way, as a celebrity would!”
Following their birthday, the family’s Instagram account posted several photos and videos of the celebrations.
At the time of their birth, Halima and Abdelkader initially thought they were having septuplets — or seven babies born all at once. But after they left Mali for the special care center in Morocco, they learned of the additional two children. “We started with seven, and Allah blessed us with nine,” Abdelkader told Guinness.
The babies were delivered via caesarean section at 30 weeks, weighing between 1.1 and 2.2 lbs. A total of 32 medical professionals worked together to safely deliver the babies.
The family then stayed in Morocco in a specially-equipped apartment with nursing assistance for the next 19 months, per the BBC.
“We know that the nonuplets are a gift from God,” Halima told the Associated Press at the time of their second birthday. “Raising children is not easy, even with one child it is difficult. So, nine babies at the same time!”
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