They have been through some tough times in their short lives but for these incredibly rare identical sisters, the world is now at their feet.
When Julie and her 38-year-old husband Jose welcomed twins on March 23, 2006, they caused a sensation against all odds.
Ellie, Georgina, Jessica and Holly are Britain’s only identical quadruplets and their mum Julie was only the 27th woman in the world to conceive monochorionic quads naturally.
The girls are so alike that for the first year Julie and her husband Jose had to write the babies’ initials on their feet in permanent marker to tell them apart, and Jose sometimes still struggles to know who is who… it probably doesn’t help that Mum dresses them all the same.
“It’s wonderful to think they’ve gone this far and are walking by themselves,” their mother, Julie, 42, said yesterday. When I look at them, I think they’re fantastic.
“I always wonder how are they going to learn to talk or ride a bike. But they surprise me every day.”
When Mrs. Carles, a former manager at a building firm, became pregnant – without fertility treatment – she was determined to carry all the children despite the risks.
And the girls were so small when they were born in March 2007, the tiniest, Jessica, weighing just 1lb 9oz.
The girls are still small for their age and wear clothing meant for newborns aged nine to twelve months, but they have thrived after spending time in hospital incubators.
Mrs. Carles, who lives near Biggleswade, Bedfordshire said: “Now that they are walking they are into everything and anything and I have to have eyes in the back of my head.”
Her 38-year-old husband, Jose, said: “We wouldn’t be without them for the world.”
‘It’s amazing how fast the time has gone. I think when they turn 13 I’ll either have to move home or build my own bathroom,’ he said.
Until now, the girls didn’t have much contact with life outside of their family. They are each other’s closest pals and function as a cohesive whole, making hay while the sun shines. But when the girls begin their first year of primary school, everything is about to change.
Their mother, Mrs., Carles said: ‘Last year I had to mark initials on their collars to help teachers, this year they’ve developed their own style and have selected different products to test, which should give their teachers a head start.’
