Mom: Quads snug for another 10 days

The mother of quadruplets to be delivered this month said Friday she'd been cleared for another 10 days.

Darah Shatswell, 24, on bed rest at Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno, said the babies " three girls and a boy " were doing well.

"Doctors did a test on Friday and everything is good so far," she said. "They cleared me for another 10 days."

Every day is vital to the quadruplets whose due date is the end of November.

Shatswell's husband, Army Spec. Joe Shatswell, 22, is stationed in Afghanistan and due home on leave later this month.

The Shatswells, parents of 2-year-old Zowie, were stationed in Fort Hood, Texas, before Joe Shatswell was deployed to Afghanistan in July.

When Darah Shatswell found out they were to be the parents of multiples, she and Zowie came home to Gardnerville to live with her mother, Pam Fredline.

The babies were conceived without the use of fertility drugs and came as a complete surprise to the Shatswells who tried for three years to conceive before Zowie was born.

Darah Shatswell said she was feeling well, and eager to see her husband.

They are expecting identical twin girls, Rory and Kaylee, and fraternal twins Myleigh and Joseph Jr.

"When Joe's here, he'll have kind of a little crash course on everything that's going on," she said. "The closer it comes to him getting home, the better and better I feel."

DIAPER DEBBY

Darah and Joe Shatswell are in the process of establishing a savings account for the quadruplets, due this month. Until then, The Record-Courier is collecting baby wipes and disposable diapers " starting with preemie size " for the family. Donations can be dropped off 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at The Record-Courier, 1503 Highway 395, Suite G, Gardnerville. Information: 782-5121, ext. 214.