Local parents prepare for special first Christmas with quadruplets
Jodie Keeley and Lyde Darien look forward to the "best Christmas ever" with their babies
Parents Jodie Keeley and Lyde Darien, from Northampton, welcomed baby girls Xyliana, Xyla, Xylia and boy Xyri in May.
The babies, now seven months old, were born at just 25 weeks and were under the care of maternity and neonatal teams at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.
The tiny new arrivals tipped the scales at a combined 2,590g (5lbs 11oz), with Xyla, the smallest, weighing 490g (1lbs 1.3oz).
After months of specialist neonatal care, Xyliana, Xyla, Xylia and Xyri were finally reunited at home in October.
While some hospital visits and monitoring are still happening, all four are "doing very well" –ready for the family to enjoy their first Christmas together.
On finding out at her 12-week scan that she was expecting quadruplets, Jodie, a social worker, said: "We were left speechless. We didn't know how to think or feel – we couldn't talk as we were so shocked.
"With all four needing long stays in hospital, the last few months have been the biggest rollercoaster ride you simply cannot comprehend without living it.
“But now we’re now really excited for our first Christmas with Xyliana, Xyla, Xylia and Xyri. We feel so blessed and privileged – they really are our precious little miracle babies.
"We'll be staying at home this year with loads of decorations, a real tree and matching pyjamas – it's going to be the best Christmas ever!"
Lyde, the owner of a construction company with two daughters from a previous relationship, five-year-old Alaya and 10-year-old Lakiah, even knocked down a bedroom wall to make more space for the growing family.
He said: "It's difficult to explain the journey we've been on, even before the babies were born.
"Juggling life in hospital while also trying to manage my business and work was really difficult.
"I'm a big lover of Christmas already, but this Christmas is going to be really special with my family."