Here are the four greatest Christmas gifts mum Carla Crozier could have dreamed of.
Her quadruplets – two sets of identical twins, at odds of 70million-to-one – answered all her prayers.
Isla, Demi, Alyse and Milla arrived 12 weeks early in March and are sisters to Darcie, four.
In fact, Carla admits she and builder husband Paul, 43 are so sleep deprived, they haven’t shared their marital bed for months.
We don’t get any time where it’s just the two of us any more.
The couple endured nine traumatic years of negative pregnancy tests and miscarriages in their quest for a family.
It took five years just to have little Darcie, who finally came along in 2013 thanks to fertility treatment on the NHS.
They went on to try for a second child through self-funded IVF – wiping out all of their savings.
By the summer of 2016 they decided to have one last shot at giving Darcie a sibling and took out a loan for a final IVF attempt – after spending a total of £16,000.
And the shocked pair were stunned to discover in September last year that Carla was expecting quadruplets.
Carla was delighted – yet, understandably, a little apprehensive too.
Carla said: “We have managed to keep costs down by buying everything secondhand. The best thing we bought is four baby swings for them to nap in.
As for telling apart each set of twins, it took Carla three months to be confident she wouldn’t mix them up.
“Paul is fine telling the difference if both girls are together,” she says. “But he sometimes still gets confused if they are not together.
Doting dad Paul says: “Our house has become a mad house, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. Just seeing the smiles on all my girls’ faces is the best thing. Christmas Day is going to be so special.”
