"Meet Max, Elizabeth, Zya and Elliott." What a photo of the quadruplets from Ballantine, Montana.

Longtime Billings Gazette photographer Larry Mayer gave us the permission to share the above photo. He's working on a story about Katelyn Yates' quadruplets in Ballantine, Montana. The story should run this Sunday in the Billings Gazette to highlight the "Support the Quads" fundraising effort at Stockman Bank as well as a diaper drive.

Larry tells us that Katelyn came home from Illinois so her mom & sister could help with care for the quadruplets. They were tiny at birth & spent a lot of time in the ICU after they were born in October

According to Grok, the AI platform developed by Elon Musk's X, "Katelyn Yates unexpectedly discovered she was pregnant with quadruplets during a hospital visit for a sore throat on April 1, 2024."

As NBC's Today Show reported, "The odds of conceiving spontaneous quadruplets are less than one in 500,000, according to the Journal of Family and Reproductive Health. Yates, a 20-year-old nursing assistant in Illinois, thought her doctor was playing a prank when he announced on April Fool’s Day that she was pregnant with four babies."


Thanks to Larry Mayer for sharing the photo of the quadruplets, and to Stockman Bank for hosting the fundraising effort!  What a blessing for this young mom and her babies.

KEEP READING: Here are the most popular baby names in every state

Using March 2019 data from the Social Security Administration, Stacker compiled a list of the most popular names in each of the 50 states and Washington D.C., according to their 2018 SSA rankings. The top five boy names and top five girl names are listed for each state, as well as the number of babies born in 2018 with that name. Historically common names like Michael only made the top five in three states, while the less common name Harper ranks in the top five for 22 states.

Curious what names are trending in your home state? Keep reading to see if your name made the top five -- or to find inspiration for naming your baby.

Gallery Credit: Stacker