Published: February 29, 2008 05:13 pm      

MOM SQUARED: Mother of quads gets help from family and Summit Outreach Center for Life

Mother of quadruplets gets help from family and Summit Outreach Center for Life

By STEPHANIE SCIANDRA

niagaraliving@gnnewspaper.com

Not one. Not two. Not even three. Four newborn, healthy babies.

Ashley Evans, 24, of Niagara Falls, has done what some first-time mothers fear the most — give birth — and she did it four times in a row. On Feb.. 10, Evans gave birth to her quadruplet sons, Robert Jr., Roland, Robin and Rocco in Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo.

In the later part of her pregnancy, she was on doctor-ordered bed rest with plenty of time to think.

“It’s very scary once you find out you’re having more than one,” she said. “I was very worried. I kept thinking, ‘How am I going to take care of them?’ ”

Evans and Robert Ferguson, her boyfriend and the quad’s father, have a long journey ahead of them. Evans said they are looking forward to taking on the challenges of parenthood together.

“Robert is very good guy. He’s very supportive,” she said. “He just wants me to take care of the babies. He’ll take care of everything else.”

Evans is the second-youngest of seven children. She is used to taking care of little ones. Every day, as she sits by the four incubators in the intensive care nursery at Women and Children’s, she said, she is feeling more comfortable with the idea of being a mom of four.

Some of that comfort may come from the love and support she said she’s received from her family, but Evans has also been grateful for the assistance from the Summit Outreach Center, an organization she turned to when she found out she was pregnant. The center offers parents counseling services, referrals to assistance and shares donated cribs, car seats, clothes, formula and other necessities.

“We’re also here to help them sort out their lives, or even just have someone to talk to,” said Corinne Cich, director of the center, which is located in a suite at the Summit in Wheatfield.

Cich and her staff offer faith-based education on family planning and premarital chastity. The center also offers post-abortion counseling. All services are free of charge. The center runs solely on donations.

“She’s been really supportive,” Evans said of Cich. “She’s helped me get a lot of stuff I’m going to need for the boys.”

Center volunteers are gathering cribs and other supplies for the Evans babies.

Though her sons are still in the intensive care nursery because of their premature births, with each baby averaging only 2 pounds at the time of delivery, Evans said this is to be expected with quadruplets.

“I probably won’t be able to take them home until the end of April, when their due date was,” Evans said.

With the help of donations she has received through Summit and the assistance of her family, Evans and Ferguson are preparing their new home on 76th Street for the quad’s homecoming.

“My mom gave us her house,” Evans said. “My whole family has been great. We’ve been moving in a little bit every day.”

Evan’s mother, Deborah Evans, gave her house to her daughter and moved into an apartment. Evans said she doesn’t need much now, except a large car that can hold all four car seats.

Although she said she was nervous about giving birth to four sons while she was pregnant, she is ready now to face the challenges ahead.

“I just want to get them home. That’s the first step,” Evans said. “I’m trying not to think too far ahead. I think the most important thing is going to be to not panic, even if all four of them are crying at once.

“After seeing them, (I’ll do) just whatever I have to do to take care of them. It’s not that big of a deal. Right now, everything is about them.”

Donations for the Evans and her quadruplets can be sent through Cich. Call 298-8600 for more information.