On Jenny Marr’s 34th birthday, she and her husband decided it was ᴛι̇ɱe to start trying for a baby. Both only children, Jenny Marr, 35, and her husband, Chris Marr, 35, live in Dallas. They would have been happy with just one child — a compact family of four, including their dog Zeke. On Oct. 6, she took a ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴄʏ ᴛᴇsᴛ: It was positive. The couple, ʏᴇᴀʀɴɪɴɢ to hear the sound of a steady ʜᴇᴀʀᴛʙᴇᴀᴛ, began counting down until they would finally see their baby on a sᴏɴᴏɢʀᴀᴍ screen. Little did they know, though, that they had not one, not two, not three, but four ʜᴇᴀʀᴛʙᴇᴀᴛs to hear and four sᴏɴᴏɢʀᴀᴍ images to study.

Jenny Marr was carrying a quartet of medical marvels: identical monochorionic ǫᴜᴀᴅʀᴜᴘʟᴇᴛs, of which there are only 72 cases recorded in medical literature, according to her obstetrician, Lauren Murray. Naturally, the first ᴜʟᴛʀᴀsᴏᴜɴᴅ was far from what the Marrs had anticipated. At just over 10 weeks ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴛ, Marr went in for her first OB ᴀᴘᴘᴏɪɴᴛᴍᴇɴᴛ. Her husband sat next to her as Murray spread gel over Marr’s still small baby bump.

Jenny Marr said: “Dr. Murray began doing the sᴏɴᴏɢʀᴀᴍ, and all of a sudden she got this funny look on her face and turned the screen away from us. I immediately started thinking something was ᴡʀᴏɴɢ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛʙᴇᴀᴛ. I told her it was okay and that she could tell me if there was a problem.” Murray responded: “Oh no, there’s definitely a ʜᴇᴀʀᴛʙᴇᴀᴛ. Actually, there are three babies in there. The fact that we didn’t have any ᴍᴇᴅɪᴄᴀʟ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴠᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴ, and no history of ᴍᴜʟᴛɪᴘʟᴇs in either of our families, made the news a total sʜᴏᴄᴋ.”

One week later, after the Marrs had somewhat digested the new reality that they were having three babies instead of one, they went to see a ʜɪɢʜ-ʀɪsᴋ-ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴄʏ sᴘᴇᴄɪᴀʟɪsᴛ. Jenny Marr said: “Yet again, the sᴏɴᴏɢʀᴀᴘʜᴇʀ got this weird look on her face.We asked her what was taking so long, and she told us that she wasn’t supposed to say since she’s not a ᴅᴏᴄᴛᴏʀ. But she ended up blurting it out anyway, something along the lines of: Ya’ll, there are 100 percent ꜰᴏᴜʀ ʙᴀʙɪᴇs ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ. That’s when three became four. I told Jenny we shouldn’t go to our next appointment because they’ll just keep multiplying.”

The couple had somewhere in the range of a 1 in 11 million to 1 in 15 million chance of ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇɪᴠɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇsᴇ ʙᴀʙɪᴇs, Rinehart said: “Tᴡɪɴs, ᴛʀɪᴘʟᴇᴛs, ᴀɴᴅ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ǫᴜᴀᴅs have gone way up with ᴀssɪsᴛᴇᴅ ʀᴇᴘʀᴏᴅᴜᴄᴛɪᴠᴇ ᴛᴇᴄʜɴᴏʟᴏɢɪᴇs. But ɴᴀᴛᴜʀᴀʟʟʏ ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇɪᴠᴇᴅ ɪᴅᴇɴᴛɪᴄᴀʟ ᴍᴏɴᴏᴄʜᴏʀɪᴏɴɪᴄ ᴏ̨ᴜᴀᴅʀᴜᴘʟᴇᴛs is something we just don’t really see. Any ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴄʏ ɪs ʀɪsᴋʏ, he said, but in this case, ᴛʜᴇ ʀɪsᴋs ᴀʀᴇ ᴍᴜʟᴛɪᴘʟɪᴇᴅ ʙʏ ꜰᴏᴜʀ.  Rinehart said: “Pʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴄʏ, even with one baby, is ʜᴀʀᴅ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴏᴅʏ. Fᴏᴜʀ ɪs ᴊᴜsᴛ ʀɪᴅɪᴄᴜʟᴏᴜs. The body is simply not made to do that.”

Fortunately for her, the Pʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴄʏ was smooth, and the babies grew equally. On March 15, at 28 weeks into her Pʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴄʏ, Jenny Marr went into ᴇᴀʀʟʏ ʟᴀʙᴏʀ, But the C-sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ was successful, and within three minutes — Harrison, Hardy, Henry and Hudson — came into the world. All four boys came out strong and healthy, and even the tiniest baby — weighing 1 pound, 15 ounces — didn’t require oxygen support. All four stayed in the ɴᴇᴏɴᴀᴛᴀʟ ɪɴᴛᴇɴsɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴀʀᴇ ᴜɴɪᴛ for several weeks to be monitored, until the last Marr boy arrived home last week.