<strong>Redwood</strong> City Couple’s Early Valentine’s Day Present: Natural Fraternal Quadruplets Photos courtesy of Packard Children’s Hospital. Left: Samantha Weng holds her recently born fraternal quadruplets at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in Palo Alto, where they were born Oct. 21. Clockwise from top center: the four sisters: Audrey, Emma, Natalie and Isabelle. Having a family is a natural progression for many couples, and that was the simple plan set out by <strong>Redwood</strong> City residents Samantha Weng and Wayne Wang shortly after they got married. <strong>The</strong> couple was excited to start a family with one little boy or girl. But at each ultrasound, there was an additional surprise. Fraternal quadruplets from natural conception are rare, occurring about once in 729,000 births, according to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in Palo Alto, where Audrey, Emma, Natalie and Isabelle were born Oct. 21. Weng and Wang welcomed their little girls after being married not quite a year. <strong>The</strong> parents are hoping to bring them all home before the original due date, Thursday, Jan. 27. “We thought we were having one, then ultrasounds showed two, then three and then we found out about four,” said Weng, whose family has no history of multiples. “We were shocked and then even more shocked. We were also very happy but a bit overwhelmed.” Wang, who works at Citibank, noted it became a joke with the family. By the time the fourth ultrasound came around, people had been commenting that there would be a fourth baby. In fact, there was. “We were like, no more ultrasounds,” he said. <strong>The</strong> girls, born at 26 weeks, were premature. <strong>The</strong>y’ve since been in the hospital undergoing intensive care but should be ready to head home soon. Leaving the hospital means about 40 diaper changes a day for Wang and Weng. <strong>The</strong> couple wasn’t expecting such a large family so quickly. One of Weng’s eggs split into two embryos, creating identical twins Audrey and Emma. That raised the odds of such a birth to over one in a million. It’s not yet known if Natalie and Isabelle are identical to one another. If all four girls are identical, the odds would be one in 11 million or more. A unique pregnancy can be high-risk, and Weng’s was. Weng, an art director for a publishing company, was put on bed rest during weeks 17 to 23. She became an inpatient at Packard at that point until the babies were born in October. <strong>The</strong> little girls were born 14 weeks early. Each weighing less than two pounds, the preemies were taken to the neonatal intensive care unit, where doctors and nurses began working on the little ones’ respiratory and nutrition challenges. Fortunately, four cribs are set up at home waiting to be warm beds for each little girl when they are allowed to leave Packard. It was just a couple of weeks ago that the babies could be photographed together. Wang quickly snapped a photo and put it on Facebook. “<strong>The</strong>y’re the five most important girls in my life,” he said. While four kids in one shot may turn some people off the topic of more children, Wang and Weng are keeping the option open. Wang explained this pregnancy wasn’t a traditional one. <strong>The</strong>re wasn’t time for a baby shower or to slowly get the home ready. “We were focused on how do we make sure we keep these babies safe,” he said. Until then, the parents are looking forward to the challenge ahead. And Wang has nothing but praise and respect for his wife, who brought four beautiful little girls into his life. Packard delivered naturally conceived quadruplets to a San Mateo family in 2005, but those were three boys and one girl. Editor’s note: This article appeared first in the Daily Journal newspaper. Weng with obstetrician and high-risk pregnancy specialist Jane Chueh, MD, at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital www.<strong>Spectrum</strong><strong>Magazine</strong>.net
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Spectrum</strong> 25