MERRY QUAD-MAS!
ONE TOWN HAS BEEN BLESSED WITH TWO SETS OF MIRACLE QUADRUPLETS
Every year for the past five years, two families from the same town, who both had miracle quadruplets just eleven days apart, come together for an adorable Christmas photo shoot.
Mums-of-five Virginia Johnson, 39, and Kylie Szafranski, 30, became friends after discovering each other online following the birth of their quadruplets in 2017 – and were shocked at the uncanny similarities between their two remarkable families.
While Virginia and her husband Victor, 48, had three girls and one boy – Ava, Olivia, Madelyn and Victor Jr. – Kylie and her husband Phil, 41, welcomed three boys and one girl – Damon, Gideon, Theo and Emery. Both mums also have one more child. Kylie is mum to River, 7, while Virginia also has an older daughter, Zoey, who is the same age.
The adorable quadruplets from Phoenix, Arizona, USA, have grown up side by side and have celebrated some of their biggest milestones together. The mums even joke that they have already ‘paired them off ’ for arranged marriages when they are older!
Now the proud parents are sharing these adorable Christmas snaps of their kids taken over the last five years to show how much their quads, along with the older girls, have grown up.
“We had no idea that the other even existed when we were pregnant” Kylie tells New Idea.
“I had my four, and then just over a week later I saw on the local news that a woman in my area had given birth to quadruplets, too.
“Everyone was freaking out that there were two sets of quads born in Phoenix so closely together.
“We were actually in a mothers’ group together on Facebook, and eventually we began messaging each other and became friends after meeting up. The babies would have only been a couple of weeks old when we started talking,” she adds.
“This is our fifth year of doing the Christmas shoot.
It is a special experience because our children are so close in age, and having quads is rare, so it’s fun to share that with another family.”
Before conceiving the quadruplets, both mothers faced issues with infertility and went through the heartache of several miscarriages.
When Kylie naturally became pregnant with quadruplets, doctors told her that she was the only woman on the US West Coast to be carrying that many babies at once. But soon after
‘IT’S LIKE A BIG PARTY WHEN WE ALL GET TOGETHER!’
giving birth to her quads, the mum was shocked to discover that Virginia had given birth with the help of IVF just eleven days after her – and remarkably, they were from the same town.
After discovering each other on the online mothers’ group, the pair arranged a time to meet – and the two families of seven have been friends ever since.
Virginia revealed that the best thing about the two families getting to know each other is the support they can offer because they are “all in the same boat”.
“It’s been so helpful to know there is another mum who is going through exactly the same thing,” Virginia adds. “We share advice, it’s like having a partner. It’s been wonderful to have another family go through this journey together.
“It’s incredible to see them grow and flourish in front of the camera. The kids love having playtime with the others for sure, it takes a bit to warm up but after that they are good to go. It’s like a big party when we all get together, so they think it’s fun. Plus we always have food when we get together, so they love it.
“We both are teaching our kids to love and accept people for who they are.
“The world is filled with so much hate that I like to give hope that the next generation will be more loving.”