Karissa Vancamp-Smith, 34, and her husband, Dillon, 32, discovered they were expecting in December 2021.
The pair were being extra careful after going through three miscarriages and an infant loss, so booked in for a private six-week scan to ensure everything was going well.
It was there that the sonographer revealed they were having quadruplets, and they got another surprise when Karissa gave birth at 29 weeks and they learned all four were identical.
The babies, Zackariah Dever, 2lbs 15oz, Lincoln Jesse, 2lbs, 6oz, Ian Shane, 2lbs, 6oz, and Daniel Robert, 2lbs, were born via a c-section on 17 June 2022, and were all home seven weeks later.
Karissa, a paediatric nurse from Phelps, New York, said: ‘I had a wonderful pregnancy, but after developing preeclampsia, medics decided to deliver them early.
‘After my previous miscarriages, I knew I wouldn’t cope if I lost another.
‘Finding out we were having quads was a huge shock, but it almost felt like fate.’
Karissa and Dillon, a mechanic, were ‘hesitant’ to try and fall pregnant again after losing four children in eight years.
The mum-of-six lost her first set of twins, Lucas and Ryan, in July 2014, after falling into preterm labour – where the body is ready for birth too early into the pregnancy – at 20 weeks.
‘Lucas was stillborn, and Ryan lived for seven minutes,’ said Karissa. ‘It hit us hard.’
Heartbroken but desperate for a baby, the couple of 10 years tried again four months later – and Karissa fell pregnant straight away.
She gave birth to Tyler, now eight, on May 30 2015, weighing 6lbs 12oz at Mercy hospital, Buffalo.
‘When Tyler came along, healthy and happy, we were overjoyed,’ she said.
Two years later, Karissa fell pregnant with twins again, but at 23 weeks and three days she went into preterm labour, leading to an emergency c-section to deliver Elijah and Colton.
Elijah died 12 days later from necrotising pneumonia – a rare but severe lung condition – and Colton was in a critical condition.
Karissa said: ‘I didn’t have any signs I was going into labour, but I knew something wasn’t right.
‘Colton was up to his hips in my birth canal and I had to deliver them right away.
‘Three days after they were born, we found out Colton had a grade four bleed on his brain and he had a 10% chance of survival – but we chose to fight for him.
‘By day 12, Elijah had caught an infection, but it was too late to save him – my heart shattered.’
Colton, now six, spent 132 days in the hospital and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy in November 2019.
‘It took a while for us to adjust to life with a special needs child, but he’s our little fighter and we’re proud of him,’ said Karissa.
During that time, doctors told the mum she had an ‘incompetent cervix’ and would require surgery to avoid another preterm labour.
However, despite the treatment, when she fell pregnant in 2019 with Willa Grace, the baby’s heart stopped beating at 14 weeks.
Karissa said: ‘We were completely broken. At this point, I had lost four babies and I couldn’t go through this pain again.’
It took two years until she felt ready to try again, but this time around the story had a much happier ending.
As Karissa and Dillon saw the quads pop up on the ultrasound screen, the pair were both ‘speechless’.
Given what they’d faced in the past, they made sure to have regular check-ups and Karissa stayed in hospital for 10 days before her sons’ birth.
‘I was terrified, but I tried to stay calm for my babies,’ she added.
Only after the quads were born did it come to light they were identical, as the doctor spotted a single placenta.
They stayed in hospital due to prematurity, but seven weeks later they were able to go home and the rest, as they say, is history.
Ahead of the boys’ second birthday, Karissa has been through her fair of sleepless nights and had to give up full-time work to care for them.
The mum-of-six said: ‘My house is very noisy as each of my boys have a mind of their own – and I’m up to my eyeballs in laundry.
‘They are almost two now, and have grown into individual personalities despite being similar in many ways.
‘Tyler and Colton love being big brothers – they’re obsessed with them.
‘We have memorial trees for Lucas, Ryan, Elijah, and Willa Grace, and we’ll keep their memories alive. And although it’s tough to accept I’ve lost four babies, I’m thankful to have six beautiful boys.’
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