The couple wanted a big family, but they were met with various fertility struggles. But they’ve now been blessed with four healthy babies!
April, 42, and Phil Gardner, who now spend $400 a week on food and slept for just 45 minutes a night when their youngest four were babies – were teenagers when they welcomed their first child, Rilee, now 24. Everything went like clockwork, according to April, from Taylorville, Utah, leaving them completely unprepared for the problems ahead when they boosted their brood to include Whitlee, 18, Jaxton, seven, and quadruplets Ryker, Tallon, Bowen and Berklee, who are now four. April, who suffers with fertility issues such as polycystic ovary syndrome and endometriosis, had six marriages before successfully giving birth to her quadruplets thanks to hormone injections which helped stimulate her ovaries.
endometriosis is a medical condition where tissue that’s similar to the one found in the uterus starts growing in places it shouldn’t be, such as the ovaries or fallopian tubes. Many women diagnosed with this health issue can get pregnant, but it is also very common for others to have fertility issues. Some researchers believe at least one out of two endometriosis sufferers struggle with infertility. April didn’t worry about possible fertility issues when she was diagnosed. The ᴅᴏᴄᴛᴏʀs had reassured her that she would be able to have more children down the road. Fast forward six years later from her diagnosis and she suffered through her first miscarriage. April said:” I had some bleeding and saw the doctor who said I’d miscarried. I hadn’t even known I was pregnant.” Conceiving again shortly afterwards, in 2002, the couple were delighted when Whitlee was born. She added:” That reassured me that, hopefully, the miscarriage was a one off and not the start of fertility problems due to my endometriosis”. From 2005 until 2015, Mrs. Gardner suffered through six miscarriages and became convinced she would never be able to have another child. During the long years of attempting to conceive, she went to several different doctors to see if they could figure out what was going on. It turns out that she has polycystic ovary syndrome and low levels of progesterone, which made it difficult for her to get pregnant naturally.
In 2012, following injections at the fertility clinic, April discovered she was expecting again. This time, she carried her baby to full term, with little Jaxton arriving in February 2013. After that, the couple did not think they would have any more children. But, in early 2015, they became aware of the huge age gap between Jaxton and his sisters and decided they wanted to give him a sibling to grow up with. So, returning to the same fertility clinicin Alabama that had helped them before, April conceived after just two months of treatment, only for a bombshell to be dropped at her six-week scan: she was pregnnat with six foetuses. She said: ” I remember looking up at the screen and seeing two little blobs. I cried out, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s twins!’ The sonographer told me she could see more than two. I was gobsmacked and laughing with sheer disbelief. Phil was away with work, so I text him six photos of the separate sonograms. ‘He phoned me and said, “Why have you sent me six of the same picture?” I told him, ‘Look again – they’re different babies’.”
As predicted by doctors, two of the foetuses still had no heartbeat by 10 weeks and their tissue was absorbed by the others, leaving April carrying quadruplets. Thankfully, April’s closely monitored pregnancy progressed well, and at 30 weeks and two days, the mum delivered her non-identical quadruplets, three boys and a girl, on 16 October 2015. First came Ryker, weighing 3lb 1oz, followed by Tallon at 2lb 12oz, then Bowen and finally the only girl, Berklee – both 2lb 8oz. As they were premature, the babies initially required oxygen and had to stay in hospital while they grew stronger. After five weeks, the babies were all sent home within two days of each other – first Ryker and Tallon on the same day, then Berklee and finally Bowen.
Now, they are thriving four year olds, who have forged an unbreakable sibling bond. April said:” The first year is a complete blur – no kidding, I got about 45 minutes sleep a night. Now, at any one time, there are toddlers all over the house – running, crawling, rolling around. We’ve childproofed everything, but soon learnt that childproof and quadproof aren’t the same.” These days, April’s family life is chaotic, but exceptionally happy.
