The devoted mother of Ireland's first sextuplets has told how her rock-solid marriage is the secret to juggling the needs of their bundles of joy.

Irish couple Nuala and Austin Conway are the parents of two sons and three daughters (their sixth child tragically died), who were conceived naturally at odds of one to 4.5 million. A new documentary on their chaotic lives is to air next month.

The fly-on-the-wall documentary called the Baby Bunch tracks the doting first-time parents as they cater to never-ending nappy changes and bottle feeds of five babies in their home in Donomore, Co Tyrone.

Nuala said the secret to their endless patience and easy cheerfulness as they go through their relentless routine is their close bond.

"Me and Austin never argue. Austin was always sensible to a certain extent. It's definitely matured him even more. He's a mature, lovable, funny daddy," she said with a smile.

"It would be nice to go out for dinner but it's the last thing on our minds."

When they were born 14 weeks premature and weighing 1.5 to 2 pounds Ursula, Austin, Shannon, Karla, Eoghan and Kerrie could each fit snugly into the palm of a hand.

In the Watch TV documentary, Nuala tells how she thinks every single day of her youngest little girl, Kerrie, who died when she was almost two months old.

She said: "She will never be forgotten. She is with us every day. There is not a day that goes past that we don't think about her."

After the birth, attended by 33 medical staff, her six babies were rushed to intensive care where they spent the first months of their lives. The 26-year-old said they felt like any other first-time parents when they held their children in their arms for the first time.

"We didn't understand what a premature baby was until we had our own," she said.

"It's very scary. You are actually seeing a tiny, tiny baby fighting for its life.

"The first time we got to hold any of them was a few weeks afterwards. Every time one of the children was put into my arms or Austin's arms you got those emotions any parents would have got holding their child for the first time."

The mum of the super-sized brood said she initially thought she was expecting twins when she went for the first scan.

"At the first scan I had a doctor confirm I had twins. We were really excited and then a registrar came in and did a scan and said one, two, three, four babies and then he fetched a consultant and he said one, two, three, four, five, six.

"We were joking saying not to let anyone else come into the room because anytime someone else came in there were more babies," she said.

The parents have such a jammed schedule of feeds, sterilising and nappy changes that they have to put a special chart on the wall to monitor the daily progress.

The Conways, who are lucky to grab more than two hours' sleep at a time, rise at 5am to begin their dizzying round of tending to their five children.

Shopkeeper Nuala, who keeps a spreadsheet on the wall, said organisation is the key to juggling the needs of their infants.

She said: "First thing in the morning you get the feeding done and change the nappy, then get them dressed. It's a matter of a conveyor belt and working your way around.

"You need to know something as simple as who went to the toilet last. You need to keep records. You wouldn't know who did what when."

Their brood of infants will go through an incredible 7,200 costume changes in their first year and their parents will spend 62 days simply doing dirty laundry.

The Baby Bunch will be shown on Watch TV from Tuesday, 9 March at 8pm.