6, May 2016! You remember where were you, what were you doing on this day? The chances are not, after all, who remembers the date, it is the days that are remembered. But we can't say the same about Webb family. They had their entire life changed on 6, May 2016. Bethani and Tim Webb are natives of Alberta, Canada. The couple had a normal life as every commoner has until the date 6, May. Thereafter, they became the talk of the town and were the prime topic for people to discuss. Find out what happened to this adorable couple on that particular day that changed their life completely.
Their heartwarming love story began on the soil of Alberta, Canada. They knew they are meant for each other when they laid their eyes on each other for the first time. Perhaps, that is why they did not waste much time and tied the knot sometimes after their relationship in June 2015. With all the wedding vows Bethani, 22 and Tim, 23 vowed to have a blessed and blissful family like every married couple has. However, little did they know they were going to have a future far from normal.
The two had never been so much in love before. It was like a dream come true for both. They had been so busy celebrating their new married life that they could not keep track of time. And how June turned into September, well, they got no idea about it. Completely consumed by their new life, they were not aware of the fact that September was holding an unexpected event for them.
Their marriage was only three months old when they received the most unexpected news. It started one day when Bethani began feeling sick. The constant feeling of nausea and stomach ache was troubling her almost every day. She soon realized something was wrong and hence decided to see a doctor!
After the checkup, the two learned that Bethani was pregnant. Ok, so this was something that the pair had not expected in their wildest dream. It had been just three months of their marriage and they were about to welcome another member. It's quite unbelievable, right! Well, the most astounding fact was yet to be revealed.
No doubt, the couple was extremely happy about this development. As they had not expected this situation to crop up so early, they were doubtful about how were they going to manage that. Bethani said, "my husband was definitely wanting to wait a year to have children."
The couple after learning this exclusive news decided to share it with their friends and families and what could be a more auspicious day than Christmas. They fixed an appointment for their first ultrasound sometime before Christmas Eve, 2015. The scan was to check if the egg has been placed properly inside the uterus and if everything is going well. It was there they faced a very unbelievable question from their doctor.
The practitioner asked them if their family has a history of giving birth to multiple kids and they both responded in no. They could tell only by merely looking at the face of the practitioner that something was going on in her mind. They waited for the doctor to utter something! Finally, the gynecologist enlightened the couple with a news that stunned them for a while.
Bethani reminisces about how her technician rested her hand on two different areas on the screen that made her nervous. Thereafter, the technician begins counting the babies. Bethani explains “She turned the screen and started counting the babies to me. She counted baby one, baby two, baby three…”
Bethani explained “I was thinking, “Okay, you can stop at baby three. Baby three is more than enough for me, but then she counted out the fourth baby.” Tim took over from there, he said, “That’s when I just about fell over.” So, the couple was going to have four babies. Well, the chain of surprises did not end here.
So they just had realized that they were having not one, not two, not three but four newborn babies! evidently, the couple was about to give birth to quadruplets They could not take their eyes off the sonography television. Bethani stated, “I was completely fine with whenever it ended up happening, but when we found out, we were very excited, only thinking that we were having one, not four.”
Tim describes the moment, he said “That day with the ultrasound, when they counted out four babies, I actually felt quite faint. I had to ask for a seat because it was too much all at once for me." Tim who initially was not prepared even for one child, suddenly realized that he'll need to look after four babies.
Initially, Bethani thought that the doctor is pulling her leg. Historically, it has been seen that people who give birth to multiple kids usually have the history of multiple kids in their family. But here there was no case as such. It was the first time in their family when multiple birth was going to take place.
Having quads is usually a rare occurrence. In 2007, the birth of about only 3500 quads was reported worldwide. Bethani was one of them now. She reminisced, “I am definitely glad that I was laying down when they gave me the news because I literally could not believe that there were four in there.”
She stated, “I just thought there had to be some kind of mistake…” She was told by her nurse that it is a case that occurs once in 67 million. Bethani continued “I am still waiting for it to sink in.” Bethani still could not believe that.
Now the only thing left was to let their family know about it. No need to say, their family was as shocked as were they. In fact, they took it as a joke initially. Vera Webb, sister of Tim outrightly refused to accept what they said and expressed her doubts. She exclaimed, “Are you kidding me? You must be kidding me, Tim.” However, there was no fault of Vera in it as Tim has always been a prankster.
Coming from a middle-class family, Tim got a bit wary about it. He had no idea how was he going to meet all the needs of quadruplets. Firstly, Bethani's pregnancy came as a surprise and secondly, he had to look after not one but four babies at one time. This notion no doubt gave him goosebumps! In case I forgot to mention, the biggest surprise was yet to knock on their door. A mindblowing fact got revealed to them when Bethani delivered those tiny angels.
As far as Bethani is concerned, she was on the cloud nine after hearing the good news. However, just like her husband, she too got bothered by the number of children, the pair had to take care of. Bethani explains, "we definitely had enough love to give to all four of them, but I was just very worried about how we were going to afford four babies with everything they need.” After all, it was not about one but four children. Moreover, this was her first time.
Meanwhile, the duo continued planning for their children. It was a mixed feeling for both whereas at one side they were happy about it on the other side they were little worried about raising them properly. However, they continued waiting for that eventful day. Finally, the moment arrived! and it was not alone, it had brought a hell of surprises for them that they had not expected ever.
One of Bethani’s main concerns about her pregnancy was, of course, how was she going to handle four children at once. Bethani said she knew how expensive it was to raise just one child, let alone having to raise four at once. “We definitely had enough love to give to all four of them, but I was just very worried about how we were going to afford four babies with everything they need.” It was definitely going to be a costly venture for the newlywed couple. She wasn’t sure how she and Tim were going to manage.
The Christmas of 2015 had proven really surprising for them. Bethani said “This was not the Christmas news I was hoping for. I definitely had some panic attacks from it.” Bethani had no inkling that it was just the beginning of rollercoaster that she had hoped on and a lot surprising thing was yet to come.
This big development was going to bring big changes in their lives. Bethani explained, “I realized that we did not have a vehicle that could support four babies,” she added “We were good until that four number kicked in and then we were not prepared at all.” They needed an SUV for their new family.
The duo had planned to put up in a one bedroom apartment until they save enough money to buy themselves a bigger apartment. But now as it turned out that they are going to parent four kids, they needed to move out of their current house. So, they thought of shifting to Tim's mother's house for a while.
They also planned as how many diapers will they need in a day for their daughters. After much pondering and wondering they concluded that they would be needing about 12 diapers for each daughter that makes up to 48 diapers a day. The responsibility of changing diapers was going to fall upon Bethani as Tim is not quite good with that. He admitted, “I can’t change diapers.”
Just imagine how difficult was it going to be for the first time mom Bethani. It was not only about diapers, they needed a crib, wipes, a car seat, a stroller or clothes in a way more amount than usual parents. Bethani explained, “Buying diapers and formula is going to be the most expensive part of the situation for us right now.” A formula full of one can is worth of $20 and if we go by general estimation one baby needs around 16 cans each month.
Not only were they, even their families knew how big this responsibility was going to be. That is why they created a GoFundMe page for the couple. Even their hometown Hythe, Alberta came forward to help the family and extended a hand of help in gathering fundraisers for them. A hospital located in Grande Prairie organized a diaper drive for the would-be parents. That will enable them to get a stock of diapers for kids. Some even went an extra mile and offered to babysit for their about to be born kid.
Though Bethani was bearing four babies in her womb, she never faced any complication. She attended her routine check-up that showed her babies were growing inside her normally. They even started picking names for their daughters. This way eventually, her time of delivery arrived. Bethani was rushed to Royal Alexandra Hospital as Hythe being a small town did not have a big hospital. Contrary to all the doubts and assumptions, the delivery of quadruplets was smooth.
Royal Alexandra Hospital is a very prestigious hospital that is widely known for its highly efficient doctors. Bethani's case was special and that is why she was shifted to this magnificent hospital for delivery of her quadruplets.
“I am excited, but it is weird when they start to move around in my belly. Sometimes, I will feel more than one move at once, and it kind of takes me by surprise, even being 27 weeks pregnant. I do not think it has sunk in that there are four in there yet” Bethani explained. The doctors did not let Bethani go for full-term pregnancy as that could be risky for her babies. Hence, the doctors opted for a C-section when her pregnancy got 33 weeks old. She was too excited to see her babies.
The other amazing thing was that all of the babies were girls which made Tim a bit nervous about it. Tim expressed his anxiety by saying “that is a lot of female hormones that I will have to deal with some day. Of course, I will also have to fight off the boys that chase after my daughters. It’s going to be a full-time job.”
The pregnancy of Bethani was taken as a high risk by the doctor and that is why they were a bit doubtful about Bethani completing the 33 months without any problem. Many of her acquaintances assumed that she might have to undergo premature delivery perceiving the problems it comes with. Tim and Bethani's obstetrician Dr. Billy Wong called them fortunate as they managed to make it safely to 33 weeks.
The babies came to the world on May 6, 2016. They came along with the opportunity for Bethani to celebrate her first Mother's Day. The doctors pulled them out one by one. Tim stated, “It was kind of like a magic show because they were pulling out one, two, three, four. It was kind of surreal.” When doctors got them out they could not believe their eyes. It was one in a million sight for them, not because they were quadruplets, but for some whole different reason.
C-section is a complicated method of delivery and it took doctors one hour to get the baby out of Bethani's womb. The weight of babies varied from three pounds to four pounds and one ounce. Admirably, Bethani did not lose strength and kept putting up with the pain only to see her once in a million babies coming out.
After delivery, all the four babies were placed next to each other. Whereas all of them looked super adorable, there was one more thing about them that struck every onlooker's mind. They all were identical. It was almost impossible for anyone to tell them apart, they looked so similar.
It was nothing short of a miracle! All the babies looked exactly the same. These quadruplets were one in over 15 million. Once again. the babies startled everyone including their parents. Tim almost passed out when he saw his little princesses. No need to say that the parents would have to go through a lot of practice to tell them apart.
The babies had become famous even before they were born and now as they had made their entry into the world, the people from all around their hometown was sending love to them. Tim said “I feel overwhelmingly awesome that the babies are here. I feel blessed and relieved, too, because you have to worry with multiple births. There are risks, but all of it was perfect.”
They christened their identical quadruplets Emily, Abigail, Grace, and McKayla. Choosing names for their little angels was not an easy thing. However, these four names cropped up the mind when they saw them for the first time. But was the name going to help the confused parents?
Bethani said she was happy that she got four babies as choosing one from so many good names would have been very difficult for her. Now as she has four, she can use all her favorite names.
They had given names to their daughters but how were they going to find out who is who among them? After their birth, they were placed in separate incubators to have them healthy and warm. This also helped people distinguish them from one another. As for now, it was convenient but how was it going to work once they reach home, was a big question.
Bethani explained “Right now, I am so glad that they are separated so that we can tell them all apart. But, when I am holding even two of them side by side, I definitely can’t tell them apart at all.” evidently, they needed to come up with a solution to this problem as fast as they could. Do you have any idea on your mind? See what this couple did.
Bethani revealed that the babies have different personalities and that would help her a great deal to differentiate them. She also explained how are they different? Whereas Emily and McKayla are calm ones, Abigail who happens to be the oldest and smallest are the most feisty ones. Whereas Grace is funnier.
Eventually, Tim and Bethani came up with a brilliant idea to tell the babies apart. Each one of them would have her own set of hair ties of the same color and accessories. Bethani further said that she might polish their toenails with a specific color to distinguish them.
After delivery, as Tim and Bethani could not afford a bigger house, the family as they had planned moved in with Tim's mother. The whole of Hythe, Alberta was helping them in their exciting journey.
Tim said “the community held a fundraiser which brought in nearly $50,000 for us, and there is a GoFundMe set up by our friends. We have just been so overwhelmed by the generosity of the community.” The couple ended up with so many presents from people that they had to store half of them in a local church. The church was too more than happy to lend a hand of help to this miraculous family.
Tim is the only man in the family of five! Though now he is raising his quadruplets well, he still has a problem in distinguishing the siblings from one another. He is yet to get used to of it. However, Bethani finds it extremely funny. Notwithstanding all the troubles he faces, he considers his babies as a blessing for him.
Bethani and Tim knew from the very beginning that it was going to be a big challenge and hence had prepared themselves well for it. No need to mention initially they were hesitant about the future but after the arrival of these cute toddlers in their life, they know that they are going to make it perfect. They can't wait for their kids to grow up and amuse them with their actions.
In June 2016, the quadruplets had their first photo shoot. The day before the photo shoot was full of nervousness for Bethani as she thought that the girls would not sleep throughout the photoshoot. But as the girls were known for surprising others, this time also they surprised their mother. “I thought they’d be awake the whole time or be crying and fussy, but they did a really good job.” Bethani stated.
Cassandra Jones was chosen as the photographer for the shoot. It was all new venture for the Jones too so she took five assistants on board. Each baby was given an assistant that was going to look after the baby. The fifth assistant was tasked with setting up props. The location chosen was outdoors of Grande Prairie
Cassandra was very excited about the photoshoot. This was the first time for her taking pictures of any quadruplets. She had no idea how was she going to pull this off because this time she was not dealing with some older man but a bunch of infants. Surprisingly, the babies did not trouble anyone. They did not cry even for once. It seemed they too were enjoying the photo shoot. Each photo got over 5,000 likes.
Tim takes care of everything but he still needs of practice to distinguish between his daughters! Now Bethani has come up with a more permanent solution. The babies recently have got their ears pierced and all four of them wear stones of different colors. Grace has a red stone, Emily's is purple, Abigail's is blue, and McKayla's is pink. It is just a matter of second for Bethani and Tim to tell them apart now.
Though the kids have similar physical features, their personality differs a lot. Whereas Abigail is aggressive, Grace is caring, Emily is an introvert, McKayla's personality is a perfect blend of all these qualities. All the four siblings share the same crib as they don't like sleeping apart.