Our awesome foursome 'THEY'RE ALL SO SPECIAL IN THEIR OWN WAYS!

Proud Napier parents Joanne and Brett Wills introduce us to their cute quadruplets 

- Sophie Neville

All is calm in the Wills household. Three newborn babies are sleeping soundly, another is cradled peacefully in his mum’s arms, and their 22-month-old big brother Peter is playing at her feet. For a household that’s still settling into life with quadruplets and a toddler, things certainly seem very under control.

“It’s not always like this!” says Joanne, welcoming Woman’s Day into her and her husband Brett’s Napier home to meet their four little miracles. Fraternal quadruplets Esther, Lucy, Jonathan, and Oliver arrived at Wellington Hospital on 13 August, believed to be just the second set born in New Zealand in the past 20 years.

And while daily life is a sleep-deprived blur of nappies, bottles, swaddles, and cuddles, Joanne, 35, and Brett, 40, still can’t quite believe how lucky they are to have four happy and healthy babies home after a high-risk pregnancy and eight weeks in hospital.

“It’s hard and we’re definitely tired, but we do feel very blessed,” says Joanne, an IT presales consultant and volunteer Coastguard skipper. “It’s very special to have four babies.”

Now tipping the scales at between 2.5kg and 3.5kg, they’re clearly thriving and more of their little personalities are shining through.

“They’re all quite different,” tells Joanne. “Esther is a real fighter. She’s always been determined to thrive, even though she was so little, while Lucy likes to be heard and she loves her cuddles.”