Three Sets of Eastern Iowa Quadruplets Doing Well at Christmas: University of Iowa Health Care

12 Reasons For Good Cheer

Three Sets of Eastern Iowa Quadruplets Doing Well at Christmas

Posted December 25, 1998
By Dale Kueter, Gazette staff writer
Cedar Rapids, Iowa

'Twas the night before Christmas,
And all through their houses,
Parents of quads dreamt that
Night feeding duties were their spouses'.

The Eastridge, Grady and McCalmant quadruplets have all been good little girls and boys and are spending Christmas Day visiting relatives.

All 12 babies are doing fine. Their parents are Mike and Jody Eastridge of High Amana, Kim and Dan Grady of Cedar Rapids, and Debbie and Jerry McCalmant of Cedar Rapids.

The identical Grady daughters -- Ashley, Lindsey, Kara and Alyssa -- were born April 8. Chad Eastridge and sisters Emily, Katie and Amanda were born April 9.

Kassidy McCalmant and her brothers, Allen, Aaran and Andrew, were born Sept. 28.

"We've been so lucky. None of them have had any colds yet," says Kim Grady. All of the girls are sitting up, "but they haven't quite mastered crawling."

The Grady girls are getting high chairs, books and "lots of clothes" for Christmas. Ashley now weighs 16 pounds, 5 ounces; Lindsey, 16 pounds; Kara, 14 pounds, 5 ounces; and Alyssa, 13 pounds, 13 ounces.

Chad Eastridge has six teeth. His sisters have none. He's crawling. His sisters just watch. "And he also pulls their hair," says Jody Eastridge. Two of the girls are saying "Da-Da."

The Eastridge quads are getting learning toys and clothes, "which they need because they are growing so fast," says Jody. Katie is now 16 pounds; Emily and Amanda, 18 pounds, 5 ounces; and Chad is 23 pounds.

While the McCalmant quads are doing fine, little Aaran is recovering from double hernia surgery. He's the smallest at 6 pounds, 14 ounces. Kassidy is 7 pounds, 9 ounces; Allen, 7 pounds, 7 ounces; and Andrew, 7 pounds, 14 ounces.

Their Christmas list also includes clothes and toys.

"I thought their different sleep patterns would drive me insane," says Debbie McCalmant, "but it really hasn't been so difficult."

On one recent night, feedings were at 2 a.m., 5:45 and 8:30. "We're losing sleep, but who cares?! It's so much fun.

"The other night I was changing Andrew, and I thought, my gosh, he's getting so big already. They grow up so fast. We want to spend as much time as possible with them. They are eating so well and just being babies."

Eastridge Quads
The Eastridge quadruplets (More)