AUGUSTA, Ga. – When Julianne Kirkland told her husband Matt last fall they were expecting not one, not two, but “three babies, possibly four,” he zoned out while staring at the microwave.
About 15 minutes later, when the shock began to dissipate, Matt told Julianne, “Well, OK. God is really blessing us, so he must think we can handle this.” Then he began to think about how to make room for the babies with two brothers – Campbell, 5, and Jack, 3 – already at their Watkinsville, Ga., home.
The Kirkland quadruplets – three boys and a girl – were delivered via C-section on Saturday, March 21, at Georgia Regents Medical Center by Maternal-Fetal Medicine Director Dr. Paul Browne, with the help of quite a few others on the Labor and Delivery team. The last time quads were delivered at the hospital was about 18 years ago, as they are very rare.
The Kirklands named the boys Ashton Blake, Walker Hayes, and Meyers Wayne, and the baby girl, whom Matt is already calling the family’s “little princess,” is named Bradlee Ann. The babies were born at 31 weeks, but the quads are in good health and being cared for in the Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Children’s Hospital of Georgia.
“Everyone at the hospital has been amazing. We can’t say enough about Dr. Browne and the staff here,” said Julianne on Tuesday, as she sat with Matt in the NICU waiting room and talked to a local news reporter. “We feel truly blessed with four healthy babies.”
At birth, the quadruplets ranged in size from 2 pounds, 11 ounces to 3 pounds, 11 ounces. The Kirklands hope to take the babies home within the next seven to nine weeks where they say they’ve already been assured of help from their family, church, and community.
You can follow this family’s story on their Oh My Quad – Kirkland’s Journey Facebook page.