Nick and Debbie Bates are proud of their quadruplets, now 18, as they plan to go off to college. Indistinguishable at birth, the two girls and two boys now not only all have their own look, but their own distinct personalities. Still, whenever the family goes out together they face a barrage of questions about what it is like to be quads. Penny Fletcher photo.
Eighteen years ago Debbie and Nick Bates were overwhelmed when Debbie gave birth to quadruplets. But now they seem completely calm and at ease, and looking back on their journey, they are glad life took them on this path.
Nick and Debbie are agents at the Cypress Creek branch of Allstate Insurance in Ruskin, and when they became parents of four children at once on Oct. 28, 1998, friends from their house of worship, the Bell Shoals Church of Christ, helped them from the very start.
Committees were formed to help with meals and to locate things the family would need, such as a stroller that would hold four babies, and other things specific to multiple births.
The couple took turns working in their office, which at the time was in Sun Point Shopping Center, and each parent assumed certain jobs with the babies: “Nick did the feeding, and I did the bathing,” said Debbie.
They went through 1,200 diapers a month and 110 ounces of formula a day.
“It was quite a time to go through, but I made up my mind early [that] I would treat them each as an individual. Now I’m glad I did,” Debbie said.
Photos courtesy of Nick and Debbie Bates.
Looking at the family 18 years later, it doesn’t seem like they could have ever needed help. They are all confident and sure of themselves, even peaceful in their lifestyle, with two girls and two boys, all headed off to college.
The kids say they all hang around with the same group of friends most of the time, even though they all have different interests.
The girls, Cory and Jordan, and the boys, Ty and Derek, may have looked identical (in their diapers) at birth, but they all have a different look now. The girls do look as though they might be sisters, though, mostly because of their similar hair.
Where they differ most is in their plans for the future.
Cory wants to go into nursing but isn’t certain yet what specialty.
Jordan will be training for business and wants to own her own business, but has not yet settled on what kind.
Both girls are working so they will have money in their pockets when they get to college, and also to have some fun now. They share a car bought for them by their parents and make their own schedules for its use.
Both work at Chick-fil-A. Jordan has worked there 10 months, after trying retail and not liking it; Cory started more recently.
The boys also share a car bought for them by their parents. Ty is a busboy at Joto Japanese Steakhouse and is saving his money to go to the Netherlands this summer before starting college. “I found that I could see the Netherlands for lots less than continental Europe,” he said. “I want to experience life out of the country.” He said he has checked on prices and hostels and plans to backpack.
Meanwhile, Derek did have a job at Bloomingdale Pizza but has since stopped working. Seeming a little more laid back, he said he might work later in the summer, or he might just take the summer off before heading for college.
All four have been asked by their parents to attend Harding University in Arkansas, affiliated with the Church of Christ.
After that they will be permitted to choose their own college, and Derek said he wants to go to Florida State University and obtain his degree there.
The other three did not show a preference but said they would think about whether or not they wanted to stay at Harding and then explore other options.
“I’m glad I treated them as individuals. People are always asking how it feels to be the parent of ‘quads,’ and I say it’s just being a parent to four children,” said Debbie.
“In the beginning, I tried to find something they would all fall in love with,” Debbie said. “We tried ice skating, guitar. basketball, baseball, everything you can think of, but none of them ever really took to anything specific, so we just let them do what they wanted to.”
They’ve been in chorus and honor society and part of the Leos, a junior division of the Lions Club, where they’ve done some charitable work.
As they all head off to college, in one way it is the same as when they were in their four-seater stroller with two seats facing forward and two facing backward. When they all go out together, there is always a battery of questions.
“Even our teachers are always curious about what it’s like to be one of four siblings [quadruplets],” Cory said. The others agreed.
Their personalities and immediate plans prove that Debbie was right on the money when she described their personalities 18 years ago.
“They are all individuals with their own personality,” she said back in December 1998. “Cory is Miss Sunshine; Jordan’s the chatterbox; Derek is the charmer; and Ty acts like he thinks he’s an only child.”
Some of these traits still show up in their plans, with Cory’s nursing goal to take care of others; Jordan’s business interests (you have to talk a lot in business!); Derek’s laid-back attitude; and Ty going off to the Netherlands with friends instead of his siblings.
Born one minute apart — Caesarian section, of course — they get along well together, but each shows a great deal of independence and the ability to think on his or her own.
