Mom of quadruplets Ashley Crandell remembers exactly what she was feeling when she snapped her final bump photo.
“It was bittersweet because I really loved being pregnant. I knew I was going to miss feeling them move around — it was like a party all the time," Crandell, 37, told TODAY Parents. “But at the point, my entire body hurt, especially my back and feet. I could barely walk up the stairs in our house. Everything was swollen.”
The picture was taken just hours before Crandell delivered her four babies after carrying them for 31 weeks, or roughly seven months. Pregnancy usually lasts about 40 weeks, but nearly all higher-order multiples are premature, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Wesley, Emma, Leah and Nora were born via cesarean section on Feb. 11 at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The babies spent 70 days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), learning how to eat and breathe on their own.
On Sept.16, Crandell posted before-and-after pregnancy photos on Instagram. In the first slide, she’s 31 weeks pregnant and about to leave for the hospital, in the second, she’s 31 weeks postpartum and holding all four kids.
“It’s crazy to think they all ever fit in there,” Crandell wrote in part.
“They’re starting to crawl and sit up on their own,” Crandell revealed. “Looking at them now, you’d never know they were preemies. They’re so healthy and alert.”
Crandell also shares 5-year-old daughter, Isla, with her husband, Luke. Crandell said she’s proud of how quickly Isla has adjusted to life with four siblings, who attract attention everywhere they go.
“I’m impressed with the way she’s handled everything,” Crandell revealed. “She wants to feed them and change their diapers — unless they’re poopy and then she’s out!”
The Crandells struggled with secondary infertility for nearly four years after welcoming Isla in 2017. Crandell has polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and Lance has low sperm motility.
At the suggestion of Crandell’s doctor, the couple elected to do IUI. An IUI is when healthy sperm is placed in the uterus as close to the time of ovulation as possible.
A few weeks later, the Crandells learned they were expecting.
“I remember looking at those four heartbeats and thinking, ‘Should we be excited or should we be terrified?’ Crandell previously told TODAY. “I decided we could be both all at once.”
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