Mum of miracle quads: “Lockdown’s had me in tears!”
Carla Crozier adores her brood, but isolating with four toddlers and their seven-year-old sister is far from easy…
With the UK in yet another lockdown, millions of parents are juggling working with entertaining and homeschooling their children. But spare a thought for Carla Crozier, who is isolating with four three-year-olds, Isla, Demi, Alyse and Milla, plus their seven-year-old sister Darcie.
Carla, 38, says, “The quads are too young to understand exactly what’s going on, but they often tell me there’s a bad germ around. Darcie misses friends her own age, the girls are so lucky they’ve got each other – it’s like being in lockdown with your best mates.
“But for Paul and me, lockdown has been tough, just like it has been for all parents. We’ve been stuck in our small three-bedroom house because Paul has severe asthma and needs to shield.
“It’s hard work and the days feel like they’re on repeat – it can get very draining. The girls get cabin fever and start whining. I realise what a blessing local groups are.
“My patience has certainly been tested, and sometimes I just go upstairs and have a cry. I love my quadruplets to bits, though, and when I see them lying asleep in bed, I think ‘Today wasn’t so bad really’. And when this is over, they’ll be closer than ever before.”
FORTUNATE
When things get tough, Carla reminds herself how fortunate she and builder Paul, 46, are to have their brood. After having
Darcie through IVF in 2013, it took another three rounds of IVF, two of which ended in miscarriage, before they fell pregnant with the quadruplets in 2016. Although doctors only implanted two embryos, they were astounded when both split in her womb, forming two sets of identical twins – which has odds of 70 million to one.
Carla says, “At our scan, the sonographer took ages. I began to think something was wrong, but then she turned the screen towards me and said, ‘You’ve got quadruplets, there are four babies.’ We were stunned!”
The pregnancy carried such a risk that the couple were asked to consider “selective reduction” to remove two foetuses, to give the others greater chance of survival. But they refused, and Carla carried them to 27 weeks.
“There was no way I’d get rid of my babies – how could I choose two over two?” she says. “I was so focused on keeping them alive that I barely thought about how we’d cope once they were born.
“We did worry about money, but we were given lots of handme-downs for the girls, and we adjusted our spending habits. We began buying unbranded food products, or shopping at cheaper stores for clothes.”
In March 2017, Carla had an emergency C-section 12 weeks early. And incredibly, although three of the quads needed life support, by eight weeks they were all home.
SO STRONG
Carla says, “They were so strong. I fed them all at once by lying them on beanbags and wedging their bottles in position using blankets.”
Amazingly, despite their premature birth, the girls have reached their developmental milestones and are now thriving.
❛ THE DAYS FEEL LIKE THEY ARE ON REPEAT, IT CAN GET VERY DRAINING ❜
But Carla says she can’t wait for things to get back to normal – especially as keeping the girls occupied during winter has been hard. She explains, “In the summer, they’d play in the garden for hours, but now it’s too cold, so I have to find other ways to keep them happy.
“I bring toys out on rotation, so each game is a novelty. Darcie is getting on really well with homeschooling, but I have to stop her sisters from distracting her. I feel for parents who have multiple children of school age!
“Having Paul home has been a huge help – we share chores and keep to a routine. I’d love to spend the days doing lockdown activities like baking with them, but we simply don’t have the time.”
LUCKY
By 7.30pm, the children are in bed, and Carla and Paul will eat dinner, before tidying the house. Then they’ll finally collapse into bed themselves at 10pm. She says, “There’s little time to relax. I’ve had moments in lockdown where I worry about how much more I can take, but then I think how lucky I am to have them. I focus on that and get back on track.”