Georgia Couple Elated over Birth of Quadruplets: ‘Sheer Happiness!’

A Georgia mother and father were elated to welcome their newborn quadruplets into the world just before Christmas.

“Sheer happiness! Our hearts are entirely full,” said parents Maria and Jose Marquez after the birth of their four babies.

Mariah and Jose Marquez already have a five-year-old daughter and had been trying to have another child for a few years, WSAV reports.

“I found out pretty young that I had some fertility issues,” said Mariah.

During her pregnancy with their five-year-old daughter, Mariah was told it was unlikely she would have more children.

“Our first was basically, we were told, she was a miracle,” the mother shared with WSAV.

Though the odds were against them, the Marquezes persisted and did not give up hope.

“We tried for about four years and just nothing really worked,” Mariah said.

With the aid of fertility treatments, Mariah became pregnant with the quadruplets.

“We didn’t think we would even have one kid, let alone another one after our first, and then four after our first. So, we basically went into shock when we found out,” Mariah explained.

On December 15, Mariah and Jose welcomed three sons and one daughter into the world at the Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, according to WTOC. The quadruplets were delivered at 33 weeks via C-section following a healthy pregnancy, WSAV reports.

Jameson was the first to be born at 3lbs 12oz, “Followed by Andrew (4lbs, 4oz), Joseph (4lbs 7oz), and finally Delilah (3lbs 1oz),” according to WTOC.

“It’s very rare to have quadruplets. It’s anywhere from one in five-hundred thousand to one in a million pregnancies,” said Dr. Ben Mackowiak, a neonatologist at Memorial Health, per WTOC.

The newborns have been receiving highly specialized care in the hospital’s natal intensive care unit (NICU).

Mariah was finally able to hold her daughter on Wednesday.

“Delilah is our fighter … She went through major surgery at three days old, she’s already been extubated at seven days old and she’s amazing,” Mariah told WSAV. “And she’s definitely going to give her brothers a run for their money.”

Jose, a soldier in the U.S. Army, echoed his wife’s words.

“She’s already fighting as hard as I’ve ever seen anyone ever fight,” he said.

Mariah reflected on her journey that brought her to where she is now, as a mother to five.

“Going from thinking that could never happen, to having your heart so entirely full, is just the most incredible feeling,” she told WTOC.

The newborns are still in the NICU and will be released when they can eat on their own, the outlet reports.