The new parents were able to bring home two of their four newborns and introduce them to their big sister. All that's left is to wait for the other two to join and complete their small family.
When Starlyn and Bill Cafferata welcomed their quadruplets into their world on 18 January 2021, they were ecstatic. Though the couple is parents to 2-year-old Zoe, they were undergoing a long struggle with infertility, according to Good Morning America. So when Staryln finally got pregnant with the quadruplets, the couple took to TikTok and Instagram under the handle CaffSquad to share their journey.
Before long, their son Enzo and daughters Lennon, Francesca, and Stella were born and placed in the NICU at St. David's Women's Center of Texas. However, little did the parents know that the ice storm that would hit Texas with a rage nearly a month later, killing nearly 40 people and leaving millions without power or water, would keep them from their babies. The Cafferatas were trapped at home, much like many other residents, and were unable to visit their newborns at the center. "I felt so helpless and guilty," Starlyn said to GMA.
“The roads weren’t drivable,” Bill, a realtor, recalled, according to Today. “I pulled my truck out of the driveway and got stuck for three hours. It was just a frozen ice wreck.” “It was absolutely brutal, that feeling that you can’t get to your kids,” Starlyn said. “The nurses and staff were incredible, FaceTiming us and calling. But not being able to hold them was brutal.” However, eight days later, Staryln and Bill were given the green-light to visit their babies since it was safe to travel at the time. "The reunion felt amazing," said the mother to GMA.
And joining them in their emotional moment were the 44,000 plus fans that the couple has on Instagram as well as the 478,000 they have on Tiktok. The fans not only got to see Starlyn's pregnancy, but they also got to see the babies even after they were placed in the NICU through photos that the couple uploaded.
So on February 21, 2021, when the couple shared a video of them going to the hospital, their fans were right there with them. Starlyn captioned the video, "This is the pure joy you feel when you get to see your babies after 8 days because of a freak Texas ice/snow storm! ❄️ This video is a few days old now but this storm was no joke! The roads were completely undriveable for over a week."
The clip went viral with it receiving over 87,000 likes. One person sympathized with the pain Staryln might have gone through, saying, "8 days honestly sounds like torture to a new mother😢 I'm happy you guys are back together!" while another agreed, "I can't imagine how hard that was. So glad you got to see those precious babies today. ❤️"
Soon, the couple was able to take home half their newborns. Francesca and Lennon are now finally home with Zoe, who is extremely happy to see them, while Enzo and Stella will remain in the NICU a little longer. The parents to five children hope that the rest of their family will join them soon.
“They’re healthy, it’s just a matter of how much volume they’re eating,” Bill explained, sharing that “the other two monsters chug bottles and then throw them across the room.”
"We are incredibly blessed that people care about our babies and are invested like we are," Starlyn commented. And we wish them all the best and that their babies remain healthy and the family is united soon.
References:
https://www.today.com/parents/texas-mom-reuniting-quadruplets-after-storm-goes-viral-t209937
Cover image source: Instagram | CaffSQuad
