Five years ago, she could squeeze all four of them into her arms.
But today – with two wriggling, giggling girls on her lap and another two creeping up behind her – it looks as though Christine Clark’s hands are fuller than ever.
Her quadruplets made history when they were born because they had come from a single embryo, in what was estimated to be a 70million-to-one chance.
And now the Fab Four – Alexis, Elisha, Darcy and Caroline – have grown up into joyous, if frantic, five-year-olds.
Christine Clark’s quadruplets (pictured together) made history when they were born in Rotherham
They have just celebrated their birthday and are already ‘little ladies’, according to their father Justin. ‘At one point, I could hold all four girls at once,’ he said. ‘Now I think: “Where have they gone? They are little ladies now.”’
After five years, the parents have become experts at the logistics of bringing up four girls – for example, how to organise their wardrobes.
When they were born, weighing little more than 9lb between them, they each had their own set of onesies – differently coloured so Mr and Mrs Clark could tell them apart.
But now the girls have to negotiate between themselves what they want to wear each day from a joint wardrobe.
It would be too much work to label all their clothes individually so they all share,’ explained Mr Clark, 48. ‘They have a few rows, but mostly they work it out amicably.’
Mrs Clark, 41, a nurse, added: ‘We’ve never dressed them the same and we encourage their different interests and their independence from one another.’
Before the girls came along, the couple had been trying for children for nearly a decade and had almost given up hope.
And now the Fab Four – Alexis, Elisha, Darcy and Caroline – have grown up into joyous, if frantic, five-year-olds
But their first round of IVF proved successful in a spectacular way. The quadruplets are from a single embryo that split into three, with one of the resulting embryos dividing again. Professor Simon Fishel, of CARE Fertility Group, said: ‘We would have to wait several lifetimes to witness something like this again.’
When the girls were born, Mr Clark gave up his job as a long-distance lorry driver to help care for them. The couple, who live in Rotherham, decided the only way to bring the quadruplets up was with a strict routine.
The sisters get themselves ready for school and help around the house. ‘They will use the vacuum, the steam mop and the polish as well as tidy up their room,’ said Mr Clark, who is now back working as a telecoms field engineer.
But like all youngsters, the foursome do occasionally play up. ‘Something has to go wrong sometimes,’ their father added, explaining that their antics have included drawing on their parents’ bed with pink lipstick and breaking a TV while playing with a broomstick.
Looking to the future, Mr Clark has made one thing clear: ‘I’ve told them already – they’ll definitely have to pay for their own weddings.’
