Hudson, Molly, Indie and Quinn Macdonald were New Zealand's first quads since 1993. Photo / Supplied
It's four years since the Macdonald siblings made history as the first quadruplets born in New Zealand since 1993. Their mum tells Anna Leask about her busy household.
When she looks at the four beaming beautiful children playing and laughing together in her Timaru home Kendall Macdonald cannot believe her luck.
Sure, raising the famous quads is hard work - but she wouldn't change a thing.
"Never," she laughs.
"It's just crazy - crazy hard some days but always crazy good.
"I just love it."
Molly and her fraternal twin brother Hudson and their identical twin sisters Indie and Quinn were born at Christchurch Women's Hospital at 28 weeks and four days.
Macdonald and the quads' dad Josh already had a 3-year-old son Brooklyn and for a long time feared he would be an only child.
The couple had struggled to conceive so they decided to use the fertility drug clomiphene for a few months and if nothing happened, would settle for a family of three.
So it was an "utter shock" to find out Macdonald was expecting four siblings for Brooklyn.
"It's gone so fast, I can't believe they are going to be 4.
"I'm really sad because I can't believe it's been four years, but also I'm really happy because they are at such a cool age - they are all talking and interacting so well together.
"I just really love this age, I am really excited for the next few years."
Macdonald has separated from her children's father but says they co-parent well and everyone has adjusted to their new normal.
The children spend two days a week with their father and that's when Macdonald gets her chance to catch up on errands and life - and take 48 hours for herself.
She loves fitness and sport and tries to read as much as she can.
But when her tiny team are away she cannot wait for them to come home.
Monday to Friday is "pretty boring" as she gets them up and dressed and off to school and kindy.
Macdonald then spends the day working, sorting out the house and catching up on admin before she does the 3pm pick-up.
"Then we come home and have a play and after that it's dinner, bath, bed," she said.
"At the weekend I try to find different things for us to do and we have a lot of friends and family that come by."
The quads turned 4 on Monday and had a birthday party with their dad on Sunday and another with Macdonald the following day. Tickets to the Wiggles were among their presents.
The quads don't yet realise how special they are, Macdonald says, and are only just beginning to twig that they share a birthday.
"As much as I try to explain to them, only one of them really kind of gets it" Macdonald laughs.
"They just don't understand the concept of quads.
"Quinn and Indie are only just realising they are identical twins, that they look exactly the same.
"They now automatically tell people their names, because that's what they have always heard me do - so there's no confusion."
Macdonald adores having a house full of kids.
"There's just these five little people always laughing and playing together.
"There's just so many of them and I just love my children — I love that there's five but I got to have four all at once, that's really special and not many people get to have that."
But another Kiwi family has this week joined the Macdonald siblings as a family of quads.
Esther, Lucy, Jonathan and Oliver were born to Brett and Joanne Wills last Saturday at Wellington Regional Hospital — the first set of quads born since Macdonald's four. The couple also already have another child together, 20-month-old Peter.
So what's Macdonald's tip for keeping a party of five sailing smoothly?
"Routine and organisation - I feel like that's the only way I can make everything gets done."
For more parenting news and advice, listen to One Day You'll Thank me, the Herald's parenting podcast
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