Kimberly Fugate, 43, from Jayess, Mississippi, who had been expecting triplets, was both sʜᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ and delighted when ᴅᴏᴄᴛᴏʀs revealed mid-way through her ᴄᴇsᴀʀᴇᴀɴ sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ that she was ᴄᴀʀʀʏɪɴɢ an ‘extra’ daughter. The likelihood of giving birth to quadruplets is one in 729,000, but the chance of having identical babies is ‘almost incalculable’ – around 13 million to one. Fugate’s husband, Craig, had no idea there was a fourth baby until he went to visit his wife in the ʀᴇᴄᴏᴠᴇʀʏ room following the birth. Kim heard a ᴅᴏᴄᴛᴏʀ announce, “I have ᴍᴏʀᴇ ғᴇᴇᴛ” , there was one more baby to come. That ʟᴀsᴛ ʙᴀʙʏ, who had been ᴏᴠᴇʀʟᴏᴏᴋᴇᴅ on ᴜʟᴛʀᴀsᴏᴜɴᴅ, made her the mother of ʀᴀʀᴇ ɪᴅᴇɴᴛɪᴄᴀʟ quadruplets at age 42. The couple was sʜᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ. But the mother-of-four, who also has an 11-year-old daughter with husband Craig while there have been some sᴄᴀʀʏ’roller coaster’ moments, the large family couldn’t be happier.
She said :” When the babies were born more than two months ᴇᴀʀʟʏ, they weighed between 2 and 2½ pounds and were ᴄʀɪᴛɪᴄᴀʟʟʏ ɪʟʟ.They spent more than three months in the ⓃⒾⒸⓊ , and needed to be on ᴠᴇɴᴛɪʟᴀᴛᴏʀs to help them ʙʀᴇᴀᴛʜᴇ because their ʟᴜɴɢs were sᴏ sᴍᴀʟʟ. There were times when I ғᴇᴀʀᴇᴅfor their ʟɪᴠᴇs. Several of the girls’ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ ʀᴀᴛᴇs ᴅʀᴏᴘᴘᴇᴅ, and I held my ʙʀᴇᴀᴛʜ as I watched two be ʀᴇsᴜsᴄɪᴛᴀᴛᴇᴅ. Thankfully, the girls were given the all clear in June and were able to leave the ⓃⒾⒸⓊ and return home with their parents and sister. They weigh between almost 18 and 22 pounds, and their ᴅᴏᴄᴛᴏʀ is pleased with their growth. They are generally healthy. One quad has ᴀ ᴍɪʟᴅ ᴄᴀsᴇ of a ɢʀᴏᴡᴛʜ ᴅɪsᴏʀᴅᴇʀ and is being monitored regularly.”
The family of seven moved from two-bedroom trailer in Jayess, Mississippi, to a four-bedroom, double-wide mobile home so they had more space. And they needed a bigger vehicle as well. Kimberly said:” 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, Kenleigh, 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 ᴘᴇʀsᴏɴᴀʟɪᴛɪᴇs and ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴘʜʏsɪᴄᴀʟ ᴅɪғғᴇʀᴇɴᴄᴇs, like Kristen has ᴍᴏʀᴇ ʜᴀɪʀ and Kenleigh is the sᴍᴀʟʟᴇsᴛ. 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 and rotate through them. They are really patient. And they are starting to hold their own bottles a little, so that is a help.”
She added :” They are calm, happy babies. But sometimes, if they are all crying at once, it can be sᴛʀᴇssғᴜʟ. Katelyn, my 11-year-old, is a great help. She helps in the evenings with baths and feedings. She helps get them to sleep. She plays with them and keeps them entertained. I also have my family nearby to help if I need it. I believed that Gᴏᴅ picked me to have these quadruplets, and I felt that He would take care of them and allow them to sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴇ.To see how far they’ve come makes me feel very blessed.”