Every mother-to-be anticipates their first appointment with the doctor. Whether they’re excited or scared, or both, it is an appointment they’ll never forget. The first time they hear their baby’s heartbeat.
Or, in the case of one expecting couple, four. They got quite a shock when the obstetrician told them they were soon to welcome quadruplets into their family.
Completing a family with quadruplets
Jenny Marr, 37, and her husband, Chris Marr, from Dallas, Texas, brought into this world a miracle. In March 2020, Jenny gave birth to very rare identical quadruplets, right at the beginning stages of the pandemic.
That was when all that uncertainty was flying in the air, just as contagious as COVID-19. That’s not an ideal environment for newborn babies, especially new parents dealing with four
Jenny had decided she wanted another child. They already had a family of four, including their dog, Zeke. Mark agreed that one more would be perfect, but little did he know there was more in store for the budding parents. Jenny stopped taking contraceptive measures, and soon after she took a positive pregnancy test. Excitedly, they waited for their first appointment.
Not what they expected
During the sonogram, the obstetrician reportedly pulled a funny face and turned the screen away from them. In an interview with the Post, Marr said,
“Dr. Murray began doing the sonogram, and all of a sudden she got this funny look on her face and turned the screen away from us. I immediately started thinking something was wrong with the heartbeat. I told her it was okay and that she could tell me if there was a problem.”
However, Dr. Murray had some rather shocking news as opposed to bad. After reassuring the couple there was “definitely a heartbeat,” she said,
“Actually, there are three babies in there.” At this point, Chris reportedly passed out from the shock. “I saw Chris had gone a ghostly shade of white, and with a thump he passed out on the floor,” recalled Jenny. “One of the nurses helped him up and gave him a glass of water. He was still in shock as he came to, sitting on a chair.” He had yet to hear the news they were actually expecting quadruplets!
Wait, there’s more!
Just when the couple managed to come to terms with the fact that there were three babies in Jenny’s womb, they got more news from the obstetrician at the next appointment a week later. Jenny said, “Yet again, the sonographer got this weird look on her face,” Jenny said. “We asked her what was taking so long, and she told us that she wasn’t supposed to say since she’s not a doctor. But she ended up blurting it out anyway, something along the lines of: ‘Ya’ll, there are 100 percent four babies in there.’”
On the way home from that appointment, the news of quadruplets growing inside Jenny racing through their heads, Chris said jokingly, “I told Jenny we shouldn’t go to our next appointment because they’ll just keep multiplying.”
Rare identical quadruplets
Jenny had a smooth pregnancy, having a scan once a week, as her case was complicated. All babies shared a placenta, which meant they would have to play nice in the womb or not all of them would survive. The doctors told Chris that there was actually a 0,1% chance that all four of the quadruplets would survive – a secret that Chris kept to himself so it didn’t stress Jenny out.
On 15th March, at 28 weeks pregnant, she went into early labor. This was right as the hospitals were gearing up for the first waves of COVID-19. She delivered four healthy boys via cesarean section. First came Harrison weighing 2.6 pounds. Then came Hardy at 2.10 pounds. Up next was Henry, weighing 2.7 pounds. Last, but not least, there was Hudson, who weighed 1.15 pounds, a considerable amount less than his brothers. “They were all born in three minutes,” said Jenny. “It’s incredible.”
Quadruplets are extremely rare
Now, it is more than two years later, and the Marrs say their lives have completely changed with the many babies they have to look after. Each one of the boys has developed their own unique personality. Harrison, the eldest by a few minutes, is nicknamed the “Bulldozer“. “I call him the bulldozer because if he wants a toy from someone, he’ll just bulldoze anything in his way,” says Jenny.
Hardy is the clown among his brothers, and he can easily be identified because of a chipped tooth from a trip to San Diego. His mother says, “His smile is just infectious.” The second youngest, Henry is the cuddliest out of the four of them. Jenny says, “He’s always happy, always makes the funniest little faces,” Marr said.
