Family of three grows to seven after welcoming quadruplets - First set in 25 years

Quadruplets Quinn, Indie, Hudson and Molly born on August 15, 2018 are a fraternal and identical set of twins. Photo / Cassandra English - Hazel&Cass

Twins can be a handful and scary for parents, but quadruplets are an entirely different kettle of fish.

Two of the quads - Quinn, Indie, Hudson and Molly, born on August 15, 2018 - are fraternal twins and two are identical twins.

They are New Zealand's first quadruplets since 1993.

The three girls and one boy were born at Christchurch Women's Hospital at 28 weeks and four days, to Kendall and Joshua MacDonald, and big brother Brooklyn, 3.

The babies ranged in weight from 1120g to 1306g. Baby photographer Cassandra English was tasked with putting together a photoshoot for the babies and said taking the photos was a career-defining opportunity.

"The MacDonald babies may be the only set of quads I'll ever get to meet in my career, so it really was an incredible experience.

"To bring my vision to life I needed four babies, four assistants, three baby shushers, 27 bunches of fresh flowers, a handmade wreath and a wooden bed made by my Dad."

The shoot spanned 7.5 hours and included 13 nappy changes, nine bottles and numerous "burps and farts".

English said she only managed to get vomited on twice.

The MacDonalds created a Givealittle page to help them raise funds for their delightful surprise.

A few weeks before the couple knew about the pregnancy, they had put in an offer on a 3 bedroom house to upsize for their growing son and hopefully a brother or sister to come.

But with the news of their much bigger family, they let the house go and look to move into a 4 bedroom home in Timaru.

"Every day is full on, it is often one step forward and two steps back for each of the babies - a real emotional rollercoaster.

"There are all the costs of getting ready for the babies to come home and then there will be the ongoing costs of raising their gorgeous family," the Givealittle said.