Kristie Hoskins had three boys and wanted a girl ... now she's having quads

AFTER having three boys, Kristie Hoskins thought she would give it one last shot for a girl but got quite a bit more than she bargained for.

AFTER having three boys, Kristie Hoskins thought she would give it one last shot for a girl.

But Ms Hoskins got quite a bit more than she bargained for when an ultrasound detected four little bundles of joy.

"That's when I cried and said 'stop counting'," Ms Hoskins said. "I think it was just a shock. I think it's a bit hard to process four babies.

"Now it's like it's awesome, they're our babies. We just want everything to go OK."

At 17 weeks, Ms Hoskins already has a clearly defined baby bump.

Asked recently in the supermarket if she was expecting baby number four, she replied "four, five, six and seven".

"I think it will be pretty fun. We are a pretty easygoing family."

Ms Hoskins was sure she would be having four boys.

But last week she and partner Simon Gregory discovered they were having two boys and two girls.

The Highett couple already have two-year-old Jaydon.

Ms Hoskins also has sons Alex, 10, and Jet, 16.

Associate Professor Mark Umstad, head of the Royal Women's Hospital's multiple pregnancy clinic, said there were only one to two sets of quadruplets delivered every year in Australia.

The babies were conceived without IVF, but Ms Hoskins had a shot to induce ovulation.

At seven weeks pregnant and with rampaging hormone levels, Ms Hoskins, 34, had her first ultrasound.

"He (the doctor) said 'you're having twins'. I thought, that's really cool," Ms Hoskins said.

"Then he said 'there's a third sac there'."

She was sent for another ultrasound the next day and discovered she was having quadruplets.

Ms Hoskins has already added 13kg to her tiny frame and drinks three glasses of Sustagen a day to maintain weight.

She was so exhausted in the early phase of the pregnancy that she had to sleep for up to five hours during the day.

She is aiming to carry the babies at least to 32 weeks.

So far things were looking great, Ms Hoskins said.

"We used to have an ultrasound and be scared they'd find a fifth one; now we are scared they will find three.

"I just keep telling myself I can't change anything that is going to happen. I just have to be relaxed, calm and enjoy the pregnancy."

Associate Professor Umstad said the average length of pregnancy of a woman carrying quads was 31 weeks.

Delivery after 30 weeks was highly likely to be successful for the mum and babies, he said.

Associate Professor Umstad has been involved in the delivery of five sets of quads in 12 years.

Four newborn babies will mean at least 28 nappy changes a day, 32 breastfeeds or 24 bottle feeds.