A Marietta couple, Georgia, wanted to increase their family of 3 by 1 but got more when they welcomed quadruplets!
Madison Collier’s due date was November 26, but her four babies wanted to meet their family earlier and came out at 28 weeks on September 3. They spent two more months in the Northside Hospital NICU before being allowed to return home on different days.
Madison, 33, and her husband, Justin Collier, 34, also share a four-year-old daughter named Isla, who can’t wait to show off her two little brothers and two little sisters. The little girl said she’s going to “teach them how to do gymnastics.”
Madison initially believed she was having twins when the ultrasound technician informed her that she had more than one baby at her April 8-week appointment.
“I know it’s silly, but I was like, ‘They come in more than that?’ And I know that they do, but you just never think it would happen to you,” she said.
It turned out that she was having four kids. The news came as a complete shock to Madison and Justin because they weren’t using any IVF treatments or pills. They also didn’t have any history of multiples in their families.
Madison claimed Justin had to lay down on the ground when he found out they were having four children. As for Isla, she was just excited, saying, “Well… that gives me lots of kids to play with.”
Quadruplets are very rare as they only occur in 1 in 700,000. The majority of quadruplets are created with medical technology.
Doctors also think the two boys and two girls are identical twins—which has the odds of 1 in 15 million!
Madison looked like she was fully term at 22 weeks. She described her pregnancy was exciting and challenging.
“Feeling four babies at once was really cool. When you’re turning, it feels a little bit like you’re on a rollercoaster. I will definitely miss feeling four babies at once,” she said.
The quadruplets were all born at 28 weeks. They look identical. Madison admitted that if they were all lined up, she’s not sure if she could tell them apart.
“One time I held the two girls and thought, I don’t know,” she said.
The couple uses wrist bands and pacifier clips with the babies’ names to distinguish them. Now, they’re dealing with other concerns, such as logistics and how many diapers four newborns go through.
Madison said it could be “40-ish a day” but thinks it could be more from what they have seen so far.
“It is thousands and thousands and thousands of diapers, like a lot of diapers,” she said.
They took a long time to decide on the babies’ names because Madison wanted them to be unique. They settled on Wilder Shepherd, Calloway Silas and Eliza June as their names for the boys.
The Colliers are currently taking two cars around to get the babies everywhere because they don’t have a vehicle that can hold five car seats.
Justin’s brother, Jamie, started a GoFundMe on their behalf to help pay for their expenses as a family of seven. They weren’t prepared to welcome four new babies, so they would definitely need a bigger house and a bigger car.
To make a donation to the family, visit their GoFundMe page.
Madison and Justin, congratulations on your new bundles! You can keep up with the “Collier Quads” by following them on Instagram.
You can see their story in the video below.
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