Before having quadruplets, Katie Voelcker recalls reading books, doing chores, and taking impromptu outings to the park with her son Tyler, who is now 4 years old. Things are a little busier now, says Katie, who resides in Chestertown, Maryland, with her husband Allen.

On the day Katie Voelcker gave 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡, she was surrounded by a team of 26 nurses and doctors to help care for her babies.

“The C-section procedure went very well. It was uncomplicated,” says Anthony Moorman, MD, one of the OB-GYNs who delivered the babies.

Katie delivered the 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren at 32 weeks and 4 days. The typical pregnancy lasts 40 weeks. She had been in the hospital for two weeks prior to giving 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡. As is standard ᴘʀᴏᴄᴇᴅᴜʀᴇ ɪɴ ᴘʀᴇᴍᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ, ʜɪɢʜ-ʀɪsᴋ 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡s, the quadruplets remained in the Nᴇᴏɴᴀᴛᴀʟ Iɴᴛᴇɴsɪᴠᴇ Cᴀʀᴇ Uɴɪᴛ (NICU) under observation for several weeks before being sent home.

Katie had undergone ғᴇʀᴛɪʟɪᴛʏ ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛs, and Allen was a twin, so the deck was stacked going into the pregnancy. But they never would have guessed four at a time.

Raising multiples is exhausting for anyone with a creative imagination. For Katie, the day can be measured in numbers: 20 bottles a day and 20 diapers a day. Sleep, eat, sleep, eat. By the time she has finished one round of feeding, it’s almost time for another.