MINNEAPOLIS - Tony and Allyson Ponto, of Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota faced a long path of infertility, as they tried to expand their family for 11 years.
Now, their long path of heartache has ended in a ‘four’-tunate journey as Allyson Ponto, 39, is expecting quadruplets.
“Some days I don’t even believe it still and think ‘oh my gosh’, we are the luckiest people ever, especially after everything we’ve been through,” said Allyson. “I just want to hold them and meet them.”
Ponto said she faced four ectopic pregnancies and subsequent miscarriages before visiting a Twin Cities fertility clinic and undergoing IVF treatment last year.
“It worked the first time,” said Allyson. “Because we are older, they wanted to give us a better chance, so they put three in, because it’s only a 30 percent chance of one even making it.”
The Pontos’ were hopeful, but weren't exactly prepared for how many blessings they would count during the first ultrasound after treatment.
"The ultrasound tech goes no, there's four in there, and she (Allyson) goes HOLY…” said Tony.
Yes. Holy quads.
How rare are quadruplets? There were just 228 quadruplets among the nearly 4 million infants born in the US last year. That's a rate of about six for every 100,000 births, per CDC birth statistics.
“I was like, yes, I got my own little team,” said Tony.
“Just a pink team, they are all girls, that just blows my mind,” Allyson added. “Four weddings and four proms.”
With four girls to adore, she started a Facebook page, Four Peas in a Ponto, documenting their quadruplet pregnancy.
“It blew up, and I wasn’t expecting that,” she said.
As gifts from strangers already pour in, they now celebrate one more miracle.
“I believe doctors said there was a 50-50 chance of something catastrophic happening and nothing did,” said Tony.
Yet all four babies are healthy, growing further than most quadruplet pregnancies, past 31 weeks. They know of the four babies, two of them are identical twins.
“I am excited to finally be a mom, it’s going to be work, there is four, but I’m excited to finally be a mom,” said Allyson.
Allyson is scheduled for a C-section in about three weeks, she's staying in hospital housing to be close to the Children’s Minnesota NICU and her high risk perinatal doctors, and believes she could make it to the 34 week delivery.
After years of heartache, how could you possibly count the ways their lives have already changed...four-ever?
“To be honest with you, with our age it’s perfect. One and done. Well, four and done, I guess!” they laughed.
Here is a fun fact to consider from the multiples website, RaisingMultiplies.org, quadruplets will go through about 9,000 diapers in their first year.
A fundraising page has been created to help the family with the quadruplets’ expenses.
