As the parents of a 2-year-old, Darah and Joe Shatswell thought it would be sensible to wait until he returns in July 2009 from his first tour in Afghanistan to expand their family.
But Mother Nature had other ideas.
Just before the Army specialist was deployed in July, the surprised Shatswells " based in Fort Hood, Texas " learned they were to be the parents of triplets.
Darah Shatswell said she wasn't taking any fertility drugs and it had taken three years to get pregnant with her daughter Zowie.
As soon as she got the news, Shatswell, 24, decided to move to her parents' house while her husband was in Afghanistan.
"I panicked," she said. "I'm not supposed to get pregnant at all. I thought, 'I can't do this myself " three babies and a 2-year-old,' so I packed up the house, put everything in storage and came out to my mom's house in Gardnerville."
But the surprise was far from over.
Her gynecologist sent her to a specialist in Reno when she was 19 weeks pregnant.
"He told us there was another baby hiding in there. We're having quads! I nearly passed out," Shatswell said.
By this time, her 22-year-old husband was in Afghanistan and she had to tell him over the telephone.
"We're scared, frightened and happy all at the same time," she said.
The odds of conceiving quadruplets without fertility drugs are astronomical, something like one in 1 million pregnancies, according to health statistics.
On Sept. 1 " Labor Day " Shatswell was admitted to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno to await the births.
Zowie is staying in Gardnerville with her grandparents.
"It was a good idea to get me in here, (Renown) so if I do go into labor, they can stop it. At my mom's, I'd be an hour away," she said.
Shatswell passed the 27-week mark Monday and has only gained about 20 pounds so far carrying the four babies.
"People said you could gain up to 100 pounds," she said. "I've just started feeling really big. I'm lying around most of the time. I can't get up too much."
Doctors hope Shatswell can go to at least 28 weeks for delivery which would be mid-October.
"We're hoping the babies will each weigh at least three pounds at birth," she said.
Joe Shatswell is to come home for a two-week leave Oct. 9 and she hopes to have the babies then.
"Joe wants to come home," Shatswell said. "It's hard for him to know what I am talking about when he's not here. He has to go by what I say on the telephone. He hasn't even seen my belly."
After the two weeks, he'll have to return to Afghanistan where he serves in the infantry until his tour is up in July.
The Shatswells have named the three girls and a boy: Myleigh, Kaylee, Rory and Joseph Jr. They are middle names of family members who will play such an important part in the babies' care.
Rory and Kaylee are identical twins and Myleigh and Joseph Jr. are fraternal twins.
"I don't think it's going to set in until they're actually out," Shatswell said. "I see them on the screen, but it hasn't dawned on me. It's going to be four times the amount of everything. It's like, 'Oh, my.'"
In addition to caring for Zowie, grandma Pam Fredline, 58, and her husband Danny are getting their home ready to welcome the babies. She's been painting and tiling to make a nursery for her new grandchildren out of the master bedroom.
"I know why God didn't allow older people to have children," said Fredline, who is disabled with back problems. "I can't imagine it with all five of them. But it's been incredible."
They're scrambling for carseats, bassinets, diapers, clothing and all kinds of things new babies need.
Her daughters Danni Fredline, 25, and Shauna Brink, 38, live in Gardnerville and are helping with Zowie and the remodel.
Brink said friends and family have promised to pitch in.
Fredline said the most challenging aspect has been trying to figure out schedules and storage.
"We're almost going to have to take shifts," she said. "We're trying to work out the organization."
Shatswell said Zowie has adapted well to the upheavals in her young life.
"She gave up her dad, then she had to give up her mom," she said.
In a few weeks, she'll have three sisters and a brother.
Shatswell sees her daughter on weekends when the family visits the hospital in Reno.
"She pats my stomach and says, 'Babies!'" Shatswell said.
