Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Identical quadruplets

Tim and Bethani Webb are a nice, young, local couple. They were married in 2015. The pair decided to get down to business and expand their new family. Tim and Bethani think that they would like to have two children during their marriage, or maybe four. Within a few months of being married, they’re thrilled to learn that Bethani is pregnant. The scene: Hythe, Alberta, Canada. Located in the western portion of Canada, relatively near the British Columbian border, it boasts an estimated population of 827. That number is about to grow. In the meantime, residents regularly flock to the local hockey arena. The local economy is driven by agriculture in this tiny community.

In December of 2015, the Webbs did what any expectant parents would. They booked an ultrasound to get a good look at their new kid. The technician certainly had their work cut out for them. Instead of getting a glimpse of one baby, they were able to spot four. Bethani was currently hosting quadruplets.

Tim and Bethani were not getting any fertility treatments. But there are two other factors that make multiples more likely to occur. One is family history, and the second is the mother’s age. Women over 35 are more likely to naturally conceive multiples. But the Webbs have no family history of multiples, and Bethani is only 22…

Because giving birth to so many babies at once is risky, the Webbs and their doctors made a plan. Bethani would give birth via C-section at 33 weeks. Yet by 27 weeks, Bethani was already in the hospital. She was put on bed rest there. The doctors wanted to make sure they caught any complications that could arise…

The date: May 6th, 2016. The location: Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton. The occasion: The birth of Tim and Bethani Webb’s quadruplets. Bethani and her babies have been lucky to escape complication, and the birthing procedure goes according to plan. The quadruplets, all girls, are received one by one.

Once all of the girls are born, they’re looked over by hospital staff. This is where an extraordinary scenario became downright unbelievable. It turns out that Tim and Bethani’s quadruplets are identical. According to a nurse, the odds of this happening are one in 67 million. The Webbs should probably play the lotto.

Abigail was born first. However, she was also the smallest, weighing only three pounds. McKayla was born last and is the youngest by just a minute. Emily was the heaviest, weighing in at four pounds and one ounce. All were perfect…

The Webbs have strategies to keep them straight. And it’s rather simple and ingenious – a color system. All of the girls wear a certain color on their toenails and on their earrings. Abigail, the oldest, wears blue-green. Emily wears purple, Grace is red, and little McKayla sticks to classic pink.

Identical multiples frequently deal with not being treated as the individuals they are. Fortunately, the Webbs are already taking notice of their unique traits. Bethani says that Emily is pretty chill, yet is also the most verbal. Abigail, she notes, will be a “daddy’s girl”. Meanwhile, Grace is a total “drama queen” and McKayla’s just very happy…

A few months after delivering, Bethani reported that the family goes through 24 diapers per day. On top of that, the girls enjoy 24 bottles a day. For a little perspective, let’s do the math. Assuming that those numbers stay more or less the same (which they won’t – they’ll grow!), that’s a minimum of 720 diapers per month. That’s 8,640 diapers annually!

 (Image Source: Noelle Mirabella/usmagazine.com)
(Image Source: noellemirabella.com)

As you can see, the girls’ first professional photoshoot was a massive success. The secret? All were fed and dressed at once so that they’d all fall asleep around same time. Each of the girls also had their own personal assistant on set. And instead of their usual color-coded garb, they all wore white so they wouldn’t have to change.

http://www.varietytribune.com/mom-birth-quadruplets/?utm_source=contentad&utm_medium=referral&utm_term=217874&utm_campaign=vtquad
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The odds of having identical triplets is unclear. News articles and other non-scientific organizations give odds from one in 60,000 to one in 200 million pregnancies...
There are around 70 sets of all-identical quadruplets worldwide… One famous set of identical quadruplets was the Genain quadruplets, all of whom developed schizophrenia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_birth

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