Meet the Meyersdal quadruplets

Having a child is a wonderful experience, but being blessed to give birth to four children at once is even a greater experience packed with an amazing journey.

Struggling for about five years to conceive, Meyersdal couple Nicky and Kobus Swart was blessed with the birth of quadruplets.

Born at 29 weeks, Amelia [first to be born], Handré, Nick and Dreyer Swart, now five years old, are nothing more than a bundle of joy for the lovely couple.

They were overjoyed to hear the great news that Nicky was pregnant. This was June 24, 2016, and when they went for an ultrasound two weeks later, they were even more thrilled and startled when they discovered not one, two or three, but four heartbeats.

Since then, the past five and a half years have been a blessed time of their lives.

Memorable journey

The cheerful and inseparable quadruplets were born on December 22, 2016, at the Sandton Mediclinic – a remarkable day for the couple.

“I had a very healthy pregnancy and worked until I was 27 weeks pregnant. The day after I stopped working, I went in for a routine checkup. My blood pressure was very high and my feet had started swelling. The doctor informed me that the time had come for me to be get bed rest and in hospital so that he could monitor me daily,” explained Nicky.

She reluctantly agreed, considering the babies’ health, although the pregnancy at that point was very healthy.

“My four beautiful, very premature babies were finally born. Amelia Frances, Handré, Dreyer and Nick each weighed just under a kilogram and were immediately whisked off to the neonatal intensive care unit after their birth. They were all put on ventilators but were doing well under the circumstances,” Nicky said.

In what she described as a bittersweet moment, she only managed to meet her babies on the afternoon of December 23.

“I had four beautiful babies which I could only stare at as they were on oxygen and full of pipes and monitors. The babies stayed in the NICU for 53 days and were released from the hospital on February 13, 2017, two weeks before they were due to be born,” she said.

Although the NICU stay was tough, the little ones were doing well and this prepared Nicky and Kobus to take care of them.

She reiterated that the NICU staff was of great assistance in getting them into a routine.

“We were very fortunate as their NICU stay was for them to mature enough to be able to breathe properly. It was also to regulate their temperatures and develop their sucking reflex. There were so many other babies who had started their lives with much better odds than my four who were battling to stay alive,” said Nicky.

She said their beautiful four children have been the glue that kept the family together.

A mammoth task ahead

According to Nicky, the first couple of weeks at home were exhausting. She said it was by far the most difficult challenge she had faced.

“Feeding four babies every three hours took its toll. Not to mention trying to get them to sleep at the same time. But we soon established a good rhythm and had such a good support structure that we were soon coping very well. We were fortunate to have so many people who helped us with this mammoth task,” she said.

The apophthegm ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ is even truer when there are four children.

“There is always a granny or grandpa ready to assist with the children, to give a hug and love when all four of them need it at the same time,” Nicky said.

Kobus concluded that he has always wanted many children and that he adores them.

He told the Alberton RECORD he was thrilled when he first found out about the pregnancy.