Recently, photos of a Nigerian mother have been circulating on social media, showcasing her twins and quadruplets and evoking envy and admiration from users. The mother, identified as Chidinma Offor, is celebrating her quadruplets’ first birthday, and the pictures feature her first child, twins, a boy and a girl.

In her post, the proud mother expresses gratitude to God and her family for supporting her in raising her children. She shares her incredible journey before and after childbirth. Here is her full story and some stunning photos:

“It has been one hell of a bumpy ride. When I had my first set of twins, the sleepless nights that Kobe and Kaira gave me made me think I had experienced it all. But boy, was I wrong! Not until I had the quadruplets. During my pregnancy with them, I faced challenges with my helpers (oh, those helpers know how to misbehave at the worst times). I was so frustrated that I sent them home immediately. I took care of my home with the help of my darling husband while heavily pregnant (around six months pregnant, but my tummy was as big as a full-term pregnancy).

Yes, I chose to take care of my home and my first set of twins because it was easier dealing with misbehaving two-year-olds who thought their siblings were handicapped. I wanted to prove them wrong, or so I thought. I swept, mopped, cooked… I couldn’t help but do these things against my doctor’s advice. My husband, Obiajulu Poco Okafor, oh, my darling husband… I will marry you again in my next world. He bathed Kobe and Kaira, fed them, kept the house clean when necessary, joined me in the kitchen when I was cooking, cleaned the kitchen afterward, and asked me to go to bed so he could stay up with Kobe and Kaira until they fell asleep. He still comes out every hour to check up on us. He kneels by my bedside to pray for hours, even though sometimes he falls asleep while praying. All this was done after going through the stress of work at his workplace.

At some point, false contractions set in due to stress. My husband asked me to pack a few clothes because we were going to Life Hospital Awka for the medical team to take proper care of me. I cried bitterly, not because I was scared, but because I considered a whole lot of things. I thought about who would take care of my babies, how they would be fed while I was far away in Awka with my husband, how they would go to school, and how my husband would take care of my kids and still take care of me at the same time. Oh, I cried so hard. Little did I know that God had it all planned out already.

We managed to take the kids to my parents-in-law, Pius Ifeanyichukwu Okafor, Maureen Okafor, my mom, Chukwu Gold, and my kid sister stayed with them there. Thank God for my parents-in-law, my kid sister Chioma Paul, and my mom. They took proper care of my babies. My mom took them to school with the driver, sometimes alone. She would rush home afterward to prepare for work. My sweet mom, I love you. Saying that ‘a lady appreciates her mother more when she starts having her own babies’… Very true. They jointly took care of my babies while we were away. When Kobe and Kaira came to see me at the hospital, I was super happy. They had gained so much weight. They looked well taken care of. But I wondered how my mother and kid sister were coping because Kobe and Kaira would still wake up every three hours to feed, even at night. Well, to cut the long story short, my sister managed to stop that. How? That’s a story for another day.

I had my quadruplets at 32 weeks, and that was the beginning of another journey. These past few months haven’t been easy at all. The four of them can decide to run a temperature at once (especially after immunization), making me have only 30 minutes of sleep throughout the night. At one point, I asked myself if immunization was really necessary. That stuff makes them sick like crazy. Everything with them has been a struggle. They all want equal attention, they want to be fed at the same time. Even these pictures, I planned on using three different outfits for this photoshoot, but look at me now… we ended up with just one, with a lot of begging. Kobe and Kaira weren’t left out!

Life itself hasn’t been easy at all, coupled with the fact that I have to pursue my fashion dream alongside everything else. Before I started, I had doubts. I wondered if it was possible to go to a proper fashion school to learn with the time constraint and all… there was no free time. So, I decided to learn online. Yes! I learned to do all these things without going to a fashion house. At night when everybody must have gone to bed, I would have two hours of sleep and wake up to go through the internet and find things that would help me with my fashion dream. The mind! The mind has a vital role to play in order for success to be achieved, trust me! It’s been months, and I’m here, waxing stronger every day. I never thought I could do it, but here I am.

We are a year old today, and now you can see why I’m particularly happy about this birthday. It marks the beginning of freedom to a certain level. For those of you tapping updates, let me say it once more, it’s not easy! You will get frustrated at some point, but trust me, if you keep pushing, you will be amazed at the level of strength you have.

Happy birthday, my sweet babies.”