There is nothing easy about raising children — every stage and age comes with challenges. And no matter where you are in your parenting journey, it seems that people love to make comments. This can be particularly true when we bring our babies out in public, and if you are a parent of multiples, you have probably been overloaded with questions and comments from nosey people.
Raquel Tolver knows this only too well. As a mom of five, including 10-month-old quadruplets, she often gets bombarded when she takes her children out in public. She created a shirt with some quick facts about her family, hoping to ward off some of the questions. Tolver told Today that she understands why people have so many questions about her adorable family, and her shirt is just there to help.
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Tolver and her husband conceived their quads naturally.
The mom of five told Today that her babies were a huge shock and that she and her husband, Darius, did not have medical help conceiving. Today noted that a 2018 study reported quads only occur in 1 in every 677,000 births, making the Tolver kids pretty special.
“It’s totally understandable that people bombard us when we’re out,” Tolver admitted to the news show. “Quadruplets are extremely rare. And who can resist their smiles?”
The family first went viral with a gender reveal in 2023.
Already parents to son Dreyson, who is now 3, the couple shared their exciting news on their TikTok page, @rctolver, and the video has been viewed 46.7 million times.
The nervous dad hoped for a girl and became increasingly concerned as the family popped three confetti cannons that immediately sprayed blue. But on the fourth try, Darius got his wish, and the family rejoiced to learn that the final baby was a girl.
The Tolvers soon realized how busy life with five children really is.
Having five kids under the age of 3 is a ton of work. Tolver chronicles her busy days on TikTok, where she has 543,000 followers. People can’t get enough of what it looks like to be a mom of so many small children at once.
“I don’t have a nanny or anything. I just get it done,” she told Today. “That’s what moms do. We get it done.”
Until recently, all of the babies were exclusively breastfed and the mother was pumping constantly. She said that on any given day, she goes through dozens of diapers and bottles and does up to five loads of laundry. It is exhausting to think about.
But it's when the family goes out that things get really interesting.
People stop and stare at the family when they see four babies, so Tolver made a shirt to help answer their questions. It reads:
· YES, they are quadruplets.
· Yes, we were shocked!
· Yes, we can tell them apart.
· I just DO IT — that’s how.
· Yes, my hands are full.
· Yes, they are natural. What is an artificial quad anyway?
· No, we don’t get them mixed up.
· Yes, I agree. Better me than you.
But even with the shirt, people still have questions, and the mom and dad of five take it all in stride.
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The big question is, will they have any more kids?
Tolver was quick to tell Today that their family is complete.
“Absolutely not!” she said. “I’m making another T-shirt and I’m adding that. We are done.”
The mom is happy with her family just the way it is and even laughed that she would be glad to help with medical research efforts.
“I even offered to donate my uterus to science,” she joked with Today.
