Parenting

This couple let the Internet raise their quadruplets

Having a new baby is an intense experience for any couple — the crying, the sleep training, the constant feedings. For first-time parents Ashley and Tyson Gardner, that intensity was multiplied by four when she became pregnant with quadruplets two years ago.

The Utah couple, who are featured in the new TLC parenting reality series “Rattled” (premiering Tuesday at 10 p.m.), were shocked when their eight-year fertility struggle ended with her becoming pregnant via IVF with two sets of identical twins, all girls (Indie, Esme, Scarlett and Evie) — a one-in-70 million chance.

In October 2014, a photo showing their stunned reaction to the ultrasound results went viral. Ashley likes to describe the moment as “pure joy and pure terror all in once instance.”

Knowing they couldn’t fully prepare for the emotional, financial and physical challenge of raising four babies at once, they turned to the Internet — or at least Ashley’s sisters did, by helping the couple set up a Facebook account and blog. The family, known as the “Gardner Quad Squad,” now has 500,000-plus Facebook followers.

Ashley Gardner likes to describe the moment as “pure joy and pure terror all in once instance.”

Thanks to their support, when Ashley gave birth in December 2014, boxes of donated baby clothes and supplies (as many as 48 in one day) showed up at their home.

“We couldn’t believe how many wonderful people were out there,” Tyson, 34, tells The Post. “The cool thing about that is those [people] still comment on our feeds every day.”

But raising quads isn’t easy.

“When they first came home it was so hard, because they were up every three hours for 24 hours a day,” Ashley, 28, tells The Post.

And with Ashley’s body unable to breast-feed so many infants, the couple had to dip into their savings to pay for the expensive special preemie formula the girls required for the first six months. They still spend $300 a month on formula alone.

But the couple has come up with a clever solution that has allowed them to pay their bills and have time for the kids. And yes, it involves the Internet.

After their daughters were born, Ashley got the idea to design her own swaddle blankets and started selling them online. The couple’s home-based business has grown so much that it makes them enough money to support their brood.

“It’s crazy to see how far [social media] can take a couple from American Fork, Utah,” says Tyson. “It’s been incredible, the following and support we’ve received.”