Henry Okafor
The couple Ashley and Tyson married in 2005, they are spending sleepless nights at home with Indie, Esme, Scarlett and Evangeline for the first time since the babies were born at 29 weeks on Dec. 28, 2014. Tyson and Ashley always knew they wanted a large family. Tyson grew up in Pleasant Grove, Utah, the oldest of 10 siblings, while Ashley, who moved to the same neighborhood as a teenager, was the youngest of five.
Ashley had ᴇɴᴅᴏᴍᴇᴛʀɪᴏsɪs, a condition where tissue from the lining of the ᴜᴛᴇʀᴜs grows outside it. Ashley said:” It was scary, there were times when I wondered if we’d ever have a family. But I copied and kept faith, thanks to Tyson. We are a team. You can either let something like this tear your marriage apart or you can become closer. We chose the latter and grew even closer as we dealt with each challenge.”
After eight years of trying to ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇɪᴠᴇ, Ashley and Tyson Gardner would have been happy leaving the hospital with one infant son or daughter. Now, the American Fork, Utah, couple is celebrating their first few nights at home with not one but four newborn girls, ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇɪᴠᴇd last summer with the help of I.V.F treatments. Ashley said:” It’s so wonderful to start our lives together and have all of us under the same roof. I feel like everything has been on hold for so long. Finally, we feel like a real family.” With Ashley, 27, taking the day shift for feedings and diaper changes and Tyson, 33, handling things at night. She said:” Things are going great so far. We’re tired, sure, but we’re absolutely happy. Once we get the babies on the same feeding schedule, we’ll be able to catch up on our sleep.”
Before the babies were delivered by C-section, he and Ashley moved from their two-bedroom apartment into a four-bedroom, rented townhouse. They outfitted two nurseries for each set of twins: Indie and Esme’s room is decorated in a baby elephant theme while Scarlett and Evangeline’s room has an owl and songbird motif. Tyson said:” We used a lot of creams and grays, with pops of turquoise, baby pink and yellow. And of course we have four of everything: four cribs, four dressers and lots of diapers. We’ll have to get used to buying everything multiple times from now on.” Now that all of the babies are home, Ashley said:” Indie is the smallest and she’s the oldest – very feisty and sweet. Esme is mellow and very quiet and Scarlett is so funny. She’ll be our drama queen. Then there’s Evangeline: she’s kind of emotional and wants constant attention. She has the saddest cry you’ve ever heard.”
