PHOENIX — When Rachel Vargas found out she was pregnant with spontaneous, identical quadruplets, a nurse put her hand on her shoulder and said in a cautious tone: "Right now there are four of them."
The odds of that happening are 1 in 40 million, according to Vargas’ doctors at Banner Health.
A year after giving birth at Banner Health in Phoenix on January 24, 2025, Rachel and her husband, Marco, are back home in Rhode Island — and opening up about what life actually looks like raising quadruplets alongside their other children.
The high-risk pregnancy brought the couple from Rhode Island to Phoenix, where they sought out multiple-birth expert Dr. Elliot at Banner Health.
"I don't think anybody would want to conceive spontaneous quadruplets… you're given that by God, and then you deal with it," Dr. John Elliot said at a news conference after delivering the quads.
After managing to fly with four newborns across the country, the family is hitting its stride — though Rachel and Marco say the early days were anything but easy.
"We had four babies who all had to feed every three hours… We were just absolute zombies for a few weeks," Rachel Vargas said.
With the girls now sleeping through the night, Rachel and Marco are getting to know each of their daughters' distinct personalities.
"They have their own little souls. They're just very distinct little people," Marco Vargas said. "They've kind of formed their own little society.”
The family has adapted to life with four identical quadruplets and two other small kids, making some creative investments along the way.
"We bought a giant van from a guy who had had a mariachi band, and we bought a giant stroller that people have dubbed the Rolls Royce," Rachel said.
Looking back, Rachel says she would tell her nervous, pregnant self that her prayers would be answered.
"When I was pregnant, I just prayed to God every day, and I said, ‘I want them all. Please, can you help me have them all and just help me have the strength to take care of them,’” she said.
And the Vargas family is not ruling out adding to their tribe.
"Our son lives with six women…so I kind of feel it's owed to him to try for another boy," Rachel said.
The Vargas family says it truly takes a village, with their family and faith community supporting them.
They say there are so many resources for families navigating complicated pregnancies, pointing to the Ronald McDonald House, which helped them
during their time in Arizona, and organizations like Keeping Pace with Multiple Miracles, which supports families of twins and multiples.
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