42-year-old Woman Unexpectedly gives birth to quadruplets in surprise.
“I feel incredibly fortunate, like the luckiest mom in the whole world,” expressed Kimberly Fugate, reflecting on her life after welcoming surprise identical quadruplets in February.
“When the babies were born more than two months early, they weighed between 2 and 2½ pounds and were critically ill. They spent over three months in the NICU and needed ventilators to help them breathe because their lungs were so small. There were moments when I feared for their lives. Some of the girls’ heart rates dropped, and I held my breath as I watched two of them being resuscitated. Thankfully, the girls were given the all-clear in June and were able to leave the NICU and return home with their parents and sister. They now weigh between almost 18 and 22 pounds, and their doctor is pleased with their growth. They are generally healthy. One quad has a mild case of a growth disorder and is being monitored regularly.”
To accommodate their growing family of seven, the Fugate family moved from a two-bedroom trailer in Jayess, Mississippi, to a four-bedroom, double-wide mobile home for more space. They also needed a larger vehicle. Kimberly remarked, “I feel very lucky, like the luckiest mom in the whole world. I wasn’t planning on starting over with more children, and many things have changed since I had my quadruplets, Keleigh, Kristen, Kayleigh, and Kelsey. It’s a lot of work taking care of even one baby, let alone four, but I don’t mind. It’s a lot of fun, and they make it all worth it. The babies wore bracelets with their names on them for a while, but I took them off because I was afraid they would put them in their mouths.”
“I know without a doubt who each baby is. They have their own personalities and little physical differences, like Kristen having more hair and Keleigh being the smallest. The babies still eat every three to four hours, even overnight, and if they wake up at the same time, I try to feed them together. I sit them in their floor seats and give each one a bite of food, rotating through them. They are really patient. And they are starting to hold their own bottles a little, so that is a help.”
“They are calm, happy babies. But sometimes, if they are all crying at once, it can be stressful. Katelyn, my 11-year-old, is a great help. She assists in the evenings with baths and feedings, helps put them to sleep, plays with them, and keeps them entertained. I also have my family nearby to help if I need it. I believe that God picked me to have these quadruplets, and I felt that He would take care of them and allow them to survive. To see how far they’ve come makes me feel very blessed.”
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