My 5-month-old quadruplets have already cost me over $31K — it’s been really difficult
It was quadruple the cost.
They’re not cheaper by the quartet. A Florida mom revealed the exorbitant cost of having multiple kids: her family has shelled out more than $30,000 on her five-month-old quadruplets.
“It’s been really difficult. We’re really trying,” Raquel Tolver, 33, told Caters News Agency of her “exhausting” predicament, which began after she gave birth to quadruplets Bryson, Amaya, Royce and Denzel. She also has 3-year-old toddler Dreyson.
The mom of five frequently posts videos detailing the trials and tribulations of rearing the foursome, including pumping Jacuzzis worth of breast milk and getting them ready to go the pool.
Among the biggest hurdles is the outrageous cost, which has totaled a staggering $31,000 so far.
Monthly baby expenses clock in at around $3,000 and entail $500 for the quad’s special formula, $210 for diapers, $80 for wipes and $400 for two strollers.
“We go through a box of diapers and wipes every three days, a large bottle of laundry detergent a week, and two huge cans of milk formula a week,” lamented Tolver, who is a stay-at-home mom while her husband Darius works.
And while the quar-tot’s car seats originally clocked in at $800, the parents had to fork out $1,400 after their kids grew and required bigger ones.
“Things just aren’t made big enough for four babies,” said the beleaguered parent, adding that companies have turned down her requests to offer her a discount on account of her expansive brood.
To stem the financial bleeding, Tolver said that she “had to be very open to taking on second-hand clothes and toys.”
Unfortunately, the burden isn’t just financial for the housewife, who has to “work around the clock” doing grueling tasks such as changing 40 diapers every day.
She explained, “We keep feeding and changing to a very tight schedule because it’s the only way to survive. I feed them and change them at the same time, which changing taking around 20 minutes at a time.”
“Thankfully we’ve friends and family that have helped us with diapers, but it’s not enough — we’re taking it one day at a time and doing what we can.”
Still, she did stress that “we haven’t had to pay for it all ourselves … Yes, we have to pay for essentials every month, but we’ve been helped so much with basics and insurance helped so much with the NICU costs, too.”
Meanwhile, Tolver claims that all the work is worth it given the arduous saga of bringing her bundles of joy into the world. The quartet was born prematurely at 26 weeks and ranged in weight from 1 pound, 4 ounces to 2 pounds.
As a result, they had to spend 120 days in the ICU with two of them relying on oxygen support — a stay that required Tolver’s hubby to fork over $9,000.
Despite the cost, the Floridian said that she’s just glad “that all four of them have made it, and they’re so healthy.”
“I kept looking forward to the day I finally got to hold them, so when I did, I just cried,” said Tolver while describing the moment her quartet of babies was finally released from the hospital. “It really makes it all worth it.”
