Moms Welcomed Quadruplets at 29 Weeks. Now, They Are ‘Counting Down the Days’ Until Babies Can Come Home

Two moms from Michigan were thrilled when they learned they were pregnant, but they still weren’t sure how big they wanted their family to be. Then, the couple found out that they were expecting quadruplets at an ultrasound appointment.

On July 28, Gabby Gidley was just shy of 29 weeks pregnant when she gave birth to four babies — daughters, Rozelia, Lillette and Icelynn, and son, Miller — via C-section within the span of three minutes, according to a press release from Essentia Health.

“I was just praying the babies would be okay,” said Gabby, who shares the babies with her partner, Bobbijean Gidley.

Born as preemies, their children are hitting important health milestones and are expected to stay in the NICU until late September or early October. 

“How am I going to keep four tiny humans alive?” said Gabby, with a laugh, according to the hospital. 

Gabby and Bobbijean, who are both teachers, first met while playing softball together in college. They got married two years ago and began their journey to parenthood through intrauterine insemination. 

It was at one of their first ultrasounds that they realized their family was growing faster than expected, according to Essentia Health.

“I was getting an ultrasound and I noticed two sacs,” Gabby recalled of her seven-week ultrasound appointment.

“Are we having twins?” she asked the technician. When he told Gabby and Bobbijean that there were four babies, it took time to absorb the information.

Bobbijean told ABC affiliate WDIO that they were “lucky” they found out they were expecting four children so soon in the pregnancy, so they could figure out how to fit four cribs in a bedroom and what type of car to buy.

“You make a lot of plans when you’re expecting a child, and then you find out its four, and you basically throw all the plans out the window and get ready for the next round,” she told the outlet.

Gabby’s pregnancy went well and was monitored by regular appointments. When she was just shy of 29 weeks pregnant, her water broke while the couple was visiting Bobijean’s parents’ home in Grand Rapids, according to the press release. They quickly rushed to Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth.

The team was prepared for the rare birth (the odds of a quadruplet pregnancy are one in 700,000, according to Essentia Health). It’s the first quadruplet birth at the hospital in 26 years, and the staff had practiced trial runs ahead of time.

“We desire the best outcomes, but we plan for the most intense outcomes too. So, what if all four babies were on a ventilator?” Micah Alton, the NICU nurse manager, told WDIO. “What if all four babies needed extensive help?” Alton continued. “So, we just have to have that safety net and that planning for what we would say is the worst scenario, and then we like to expect the best scenario too.”

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Now growing stronger in the NICU every day, Bobbijean and Gabby can’t wait to be together as a family. Gabby organized a GoFundMe to support the babies because she plans on stepping away from teaching for a year to take care of them. Bobbijean will continue to work.

“We’re just counting down the days and getting our house prepared and clean for when the babies do come home,” Gabby said, according to the hospital.