- Mum-of-two Mercedes was shocked to find out her third bub on the way was in fact identical quads
- During her pregnancy, Mercedes learned all four babies shared one placenta
- The little fighters are out of hospital and thriving at home with their family
Here she shares her story in her own words.
Watching as our youngest boy, Aaron, blew out the candle on his cake, I grinned.
‘Happy birthday,’ I cheered, along with my hubby, Jonathan, then 37, our eldest son, Luke, three, and our family and friends who’d come to celebrate Aaron’s first birthday.
The boys kept me on my toes, but having kids was the most joyful experience.
Still, we thought two was our perfect number. But later that day, as the festivities wound down, I realised that my period was late.
‘Two pink lines appeared.’
Waiting for our guests to leave, I raced to the bathroom to take a test. Almost immediately, two pink lines appeared.
I was pregnant, again! Sharing the news with Jonathan, he was delighted.
I had my first scan at seven weeks, but Jonathan had to go to work.
‘I’m sure it’ll all be normal,’ I said, kissing him goodbye.
But nothing could’ve prepared me for what the sonographer revealed as I lay on the table.
‘There’s one… two…’ she said, gazing at the screen as she waved the wand over my belly.
We could see the babies on the screen, looking like little peanuts.
‘Two!?’ I gulped, trying to process the idea of having twins. But then she kept on counting.
‘Three!’ she continued.
Triplets!?
But she wasn’t finished.
‘You’re having quads… There’s four babies,’ she finally confirmed.
Gobsmacked, I couldn’t help but laugh. It felt like I was in a dream.
‘When I told Jonathan, he thought I was joking.’
When I phoned Jonathan from the clinic, he thought I was joking, until my doctor got on the call to explain this was real, and it was a very high risk pregnancy.
My parents, Gerardo and Maria, were equally shocked.
‘You’re having what?’ they said over FaceTime.
Amazingly, there wasn’t any history of multiples on either side of our families.
Once the shock wore off, Jonathan and I were both excited – and nervous – for what lay ahead.
Not only would we need to buy four of everything – clothes, cots, and baby seats – we’d also need a four-seater stroller and a much bigger car.
But our biggest concern was how high risk the pregnancy was, as all four bubs shared just one placenta, known as a monochorionic pregnancy.
To ensure the babies were receiving enough oxygen and nutrients, I had to go for weekly scans.
And at 18 weeks, we discovered we were expecting four identical girls.
READ MORE: Mum’s miracle: ‘I had quadruplets at 50’
As my belly continued to grow, we prayed we’d make it to 23 weeks, when the pregnancy would be viable.
The larger I got, the harder it was to move around with our two very active boys.
Thankfully, Jonathan was a champ taking on a lot of the work with Luke and Aaron.
Relieved to make it to 29 weeks, at my scan in May 2024, my specialist noticed there was reduced blood flow to two of the girls.
‘They’re coming today,’ she said, as I was whisked to the birthing suite.
While our two boys were in daycare, Jonathan was by my side as our daughters were brought into the world one by one.
First came Hannah, weighing 1.3kg, then Lucy arrived weighing 1.2kg.
Next came Rebecca at 1.2kg, followed by our littlest, Petra, at 1.1kg.
As their chorus of cries filled the room, I was so overwhelmed with relief.
‘I’m so proud of you,’ Jonathan kissed me.
The girls were rushed to the NICU for breathing support, but just a few hours later I was able to go down to their suite to see them in their incubators.
‘You’re all so precious,’ I cried.
‘We have six kids under four!’
But as reality sank in, I couldn’t believe we had six kids under four!
READ MORE: I had identical triplets: ‘We change 126 nappies a week!’
Discharged three days later, it felt strange going home without my babies, but Jonathan and I visited them every day.
A couple weeks later, we were able to hold the girls one by one. I savoured each second with my tiny miracles, unable to believe they’d all fitted in my belly.
After 70 days in hospital, Hannah and Petra were finally big enough to come home, followed by Lucy four days later.
Our eldest, Rebecca, joined her sisters after 86 days, once her breathing and heart rate were stable enough. It was such a joy to have all our babies under one roof.
The boys were besotted with their sisters.
To help tell them apart, we gave them unique anklets, dressed them in labelled onesies and put them in their assigned carriers.
As newborns, the babies went through 200 nappies a week and 32 bottles a day! Luke was always keen to help, often feeding one of the girls their bottles.
Now 19 months old, our daughters are meeting their milestones and are all walking.
Although they look so similar, they each have their quirks.
Hannah is the adventurer and the boldest of the four, always ready to try something new.
Lucy is the calm, happy baby, who likes to snuggle. Rebecca is very talkative. And Petra, the youngest of six kids and also the smallest quad, is vocal and expressive.
In public, people often do a double – or quadruple – take. It’s always fun to see strangers’ reactions.
‘Our girls are one in 15 million.’
I never could have predicted we’d welcome identical quads.
Our girls are one in 15 million, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.
They’re our beautiful little miracles!
