They had a one in 70 million possibility of simultaneously having two sets of twins. Nevertheless, it occurred to them. Sharon and Julian Tuner, parents of exquisite quadruplets, had their lives completely altered by the birth of their four children. They take stock one year after the delivery of the offspring!
The Turners have nearly accomplished the inconceivable. They are one of only four couples worldwide to have produced a series of boy-girl double twins. Two sons and two daughters are identical. The quadruplets were born 11 weeks prematurely in March of last year, each weighing only 2 pounds. But once they returned home, they grew stronger and stronger.
With four sets of large blue eyes, four sets of soft, chubby cheekbones, and four sets of mischievous smiles, the infants resemble the faces of a diaper advertisement.
Their mother recently disclosed to an American newspaper what it was like to live with quadruplets at home.
A year with quadruplets yields the following statistics:
18 hours per day are devoted to nourishing the four children.
30,000 diapers should be changed until the infants are clean.
Every day, five sets of laundry are performed in order to maintain clean clothing.
208 cans of 900 grams of milk consumed in one year.
Consumed 24 containers of yogurt in one week.
Sharon gets only two consecutive hours of sleep each night.
But above all, it’s four times the effort for four times the satisfaction…
It took Sharon and Julian four rounds of I.V.F, tens of thousands of pounds, and years of anguish before they found happiness with their children.
A year after birth, they are therefore (very) tired but happy. Julian Turner admits that he often feels guilty for having gone back to work while his wife spends her days taking care of the children. Fortunately, Sharon’s parents have moved near their home to give them a hand.
Sharon Turner also explains that becoming a mother of four all at once was a “wonderful and exhilarating experience,” but very tiring – much more tiring than she could have imagined. And despite the exhaustion, the couple insists they have not ruled out having more children. Mr. Turner said, “Never say never. They have been a huge blessing in our lives.”
