There are many aspects of Kayla Gilnes’ quadruple pregnancy that makes it a blessing. First of all, Kayla is a triplet, and she is now the first known triplet to give birth to quadruplets. Aside from that, however, Kayla battled infertility for years and suffered her own heartbreak on her way to having her quadruplets.
Kayla and her husband had spent years struggling to conceive, and they had started to think biological children were not in the cards for them.
“Sometimes Allen and I can’t believe what has happened to us,” said Kayla, 32. “We spent 10 years trying for a family and now we have a massive family of eight children and us!”
During their time trying to conceive, Kayla’s struggling brother suggested that she adopt his two daughters, Adysen and Amiliya.
“We sat down and discussed what we were going to do, as we couldn’t ever imagine not being parents,” she said. “Allen and I loved the girls dearly and if it would help my brother not to struggle, then we decided it was the way forward for us. It wasn’t how I imagined starting our family, but if it was meant to be this way, then so be it.”
Kayla loved being a mother so much that she tried again to conceive a few years later. This time, she decided to try fertility treatments, and they paid off in a big way when she became pregnant with triplets. All was going well until 27 weeks into the pregnancy, when Kayla was told a baby girl she’d named Allie had died in the womb. Doctors also informed Kayla that she had to deliver the other two babies immediately.
“It was heartbreaking. We couldn’t believe it,” Kayla remembered. “The other two triplets were still alive and doctors decided that it couldn’t wait. . . We didn’t even know if they would make it through, as it was 13 weeks early for them to arrive.”
Thankfully, Kayla’s sons Parker and Grayson made a full recovery after spending some time in the NICU.
Though they were now raising four children, Kayla and Allan could not help but think that their family was not quite complete. They decided not to do fertility treatments this time, and to leave it up to God if they would have another child. They were then stunned when Kayla naturally became pregnant with quadruplets!
“It was quadruplets. And naturally occurring ones too – because this time I hadn’t taken any fertility drugs at all,” Kayla explained. “I was so shocked.”
After the experience of losing one of her triplets, Kayla was terrified about a quadruple pregnancy.
“It was just one of those moments where you are sitting there and you feel like it is a 100 percent dream,” she said. “I couldn’t even comprehend it.”
The pregnancy itself was also very hard on Kayla physically.
“I was so sick and every day I was terrified that I was going to lose one or more of the babies,” she said. “We had been through it before and I didn’t think we could cope with losing any more.”
Thankfully, Kayla ended up giving birth to four healthy babies: two boys, Jamesen and Reese, and two girls, Oaklee and Lincoln.
Kayla actually made history when she gave birth.
“This is an incredible story,” said Shazia Malik, a doctor at a prestigious hospital in London. “And despite the fact that twin pregnancies can be more likely with historic cases, we find with triplets and upwards, this is normally a random by chance incident unless there has been some fertility treatment. I have never heard of this before and I do believe it is a world first.”
Kayla and Allan could not be happier that their family is now complete, and they thank God every day for all the blessings in their lives!
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.