A young married couple always knew they wanted to have a family. Not long after getting married, the wife found out she was pregnant. On the day of an ultrasound, the nurse gave them some news that shocked the couple about the “baby”—a 1-in-15 million occurrence.
Bethani and Tim Webb, of Hythe, Alberta, dated for two years before tying the knot in June 2015. After being married for just three months, Bethani became pregnant. In December 2015, the couple went to the hospital for a routine ultrasound.
When the nurse looked at the screen, she informed the couple that Bethani was carrying identical quadruplets—all female. The Webbs were speechless.
“It was a good thing that my husband was sitting down because he almost fainted,” she added.
The quadruplets were naturally conceived; however, neither Bethani’s nor Tim’s side of the family have a history of multiples. The odds of conceiving identical quadruplets are 1 in 15 million.
Bethani gave birth via C-section at 33 weeks in May 2016 to four healthy daughters, who were named Abigail, McKayla, Grace, and Emily.
The identical babies made it difficult for the parents to tell them apart, so the new parents had to paint their toenails with different colors to distinguish them.
Taking care of four babies requires a lot of time and effort. When the girls were 9 months old, Bethani would change between 25 and 30 diapers a day, and they would drink a 900-gram (approx. 32-ounce) tin of milk formula in a day and a half.
The cost of raising the children was also high, and fortunately, the community rallied to help them. Volunteers visited the family every week to care for the babies, and a local fundraiser helped to purchase a van for them.
“It’s really amazing, because there would be no way we could do this by ourselves,” said Bethani.
“I think for the most part the feeding has been the most difficult part,” she shared. “There’s definitely nights when it’s difficult.”
“It’s priceless, these babies are priceless,” she said.
Though having four children in the house can be quite overwhelming, the joy children bring to one’s life is undeniable.
“I couldn’t imagine life without them now that they’re here. I don’t know what I'd do without them,” Bethani said.
The post further continued: “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t thank God for giving us these miracle babies. They’re the light of our lives and I wouldn’t change a single thing about them. Happy 3rd birthday, darlings!”
A comment posted by the parents on the Facebook page states that raising them is not always “sunshine and smiles.” However, the kids really make their parents’ lives “complete.”
Life is definitely full of surprises, and the best surprise of all is the love you find yourself giving to your children. Although raising a child—or four—is challenging, it’s well worth it, because the children love you right back.
