When Denair couple Rene and Tania Villanueva talked about starting a family they envisioned maybe two children, but they say God had other plans for them because they are now parents to the Quad Squad.

The Quad Squad are the Villanueva’s four sons — Andrew, Julian, Samuel and Robert, who was named after the couple’s doctor.

The four boys were born on Dec. 31, 2020 at Doctors Medical Center in Modesto. They remain in the NICU, but are doing well and progressing along at a good pace.

“Everything has been going really well,” said Rene.

The couple wasn’t sure if they would be able to have children because Tania said she had infrequent ovulation. But their doctor thought there was more than a good chance and started Tania on a low-dose fertility regimen. It didn’t take very long before a pregnancy test came up positive.

“The doctor told us later that it was just like a boost,” Rene said. “Ninety percent was from us and 10% from the boost.”

The news that they were expecting was just the first in a series of happy surprises for the couple.

“We weren’t really sure if it would happen, so we would have been so happy if God gave us one,” Rene said.

Because of the pandemic only Tania could go in for the doctor appointment, so she was alone when the doctor told her there were four heartbeats.

“I was in shock,” Tania said. “I asked ‘are you sure?’ Then I heard all the heartbeats. I was still in disbelief.”

Still in shock, Tania walked out to the parking lot to meet Rene and share the news.

“She came out and told me that we weren’t having a baby,” Rene said. “Immediately I was thinking the worst and then she said we were going to have four babies. I had Bambi knees and fell to the floor. It took a while for it to really hit me. I think I’m still a little bit in shock.”

The next big surprise for the couple would come at the gender reveal party. First there was a balloon to pop, which came out blue. Then there was a confetti shooter, which again came out blue. A ball was broken open and it spilled out blue powder. Finally, there was a cake to cut into.

“I cut into it and it was blue,” Rene said. “All the guys at the party were going crazy and the girls were all crying.”

“I thought there would be at least one girl, but everything kept coming out blue,” Tania said. “I thought if God was sending me four boys, then it would be for a reason.”

Carrying four babies meant a high-risk pregnancy for Tania. She had morning sickness all through the pregnancy, even on the day of the delivery. There were numerous sleepless nights and at one point the lower back pain got so bad Tania had to use a walker and a wheelchair.

“It was very hard but the struggle was worth it,” Tania said.

The couple is looking forward to the day when they will be able to bring their four sons home. And while there is some nervousness about the workload that awaits them, they have a line of ready and willing helpers in new grandmothers, aunts, cousins and church friends.

“We just can’t wait for them to be home and we can embrace and cherish every moment with our babies,” Rene said.

The couple’s church friends have started a GoFundMe account to help the family with expenses. The account can be found at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/Villanueva-QUAD-SQUAD