THE QUADS TURN 1!

The Kiwi cuties celebrate with a chaotic, balloon filled birthday bash

-  Natalee Fuhrmann

The room is full of balloons, but the one Natalie Te Aroha carried around on her tummy for eight months is missing. “And I’m glad that’s behind me!” laughs the 31-year-old mum-of-five, who sums up her giant quadruplet pregnancy in one word: “Uncomfortable!”

Having been with Natalie during that challenging pregnancy and for the birth, Woman’s Day is excited to celebrate the quads’ first birthday party at the family’s home in Bunbury, Western Australia. The floor is alive with girls Maddi, Frankee and Marley, plus their brother Maioha, all in various stages of walk-crawling. Meanwhile, proud big sister Kiana, three, is fussing over her little brood, all five squealing with delight.

FANTASY WORLD

“This last year has been a blur,” confesses Natalie, who admits to feeling she’s been knee-deep in nappies and no sleep since the four babies’ arrival last July. “I was living in a fantasy world when I was pregnant. I wasn’t thinking about the reality of being a mum of four newborns until I started living it.