By Emily Berry

Staff Writer

Kim Rehring has mastered the art of stacking babies. Each of her four quadruplets is barely more than a handful, and she can pick them up one-handed and hold two, three, and even four at a time.

"This is what we call the double-decker," she said, holding both her daughters, Sydney and Maggie.

All four of the Rehring quadruplets, born June 9 at Erlanger hospital, are now home in Harrison with their parents and grandparents.

The babies are thriving, Mrs. Rehring said, with no sign of any long-term health problems stemming from their birth at 33 weeks gestation. Patrick, the biggest, weighs more than 6 pounds, and Sydney, the smallest, is at 4 pounds 2 ounces.

All four have blue eyes like their father, and varying degrees of redheaded-ness like their mother.

Ms. Rehring said life has actually been easier than she expected since the babies are good-natured and don't cry much. Three sets of grandparents have been taking turns helping with late-night and early morning feedings, allowing Mrs. Rehring to get about six hours of sleep each night.

All four babies have been home since July 11, when the boys followed their sisters' earlier departures from the neonatal intensive care unit at T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital.

Mrs. Rehring said Friday that life has been easier with all four at home because she and the rest of the family don't have to split their time between home and the hospital.

Being organized and following a schedule has been paramount, she said. The babies eat on a schedule, and she makes the bottles for overnight all at once before bed.

The volume of work is intimidating: A huge rack of bottles takes up half the kitchen counter; the babies use as many as 32 diapers every day. Mrs. Rehring washes at least one load of tiny baby clothes and cloths every day. Each baby has a signature color -- Maggie's pink, Sydney's lavender, Tommy's blue and Patrick's green -- to help the family keep their possessions organized.

While she and the grandparents hold down the fort at home, dad Matt Rehring works five days a week for Wal-Mart and another two days a week at Zaxby's. When he gets home he goes straight to his babies, Mrs. Rehring said.

"He's in heaven," she said.

The quadruplets' grandparents, including Mrs. Rehring's mother, Phyllis Vinson, who came over Friday afternoon to help out, have been thrilled to help, she said.

"It's like riding a bicycle; they just got right back on," Mrs. Rehring said.

Mrs. Vinson had a camera ready to capture a shot of the girls, Maggie and Sydney, nestled together in one soothing bouncy seat, peacefully asleep. She said she looks forward watching them grow, but also is trying to enjoy their time as infants.

"I love what they are now, but I was thinking I have to bring them ice cream cones someday," she said.

She's said she's also enjoyed watching her own baby be a mother.

"Kim is such a good mama," she said. "She always wanted to be one, and she just got blessed ... and blessed."

E-mail Emily Berry at eberry@timesfreepress.com

By the numbers

* 468: Sets of quadruplets born in the United States in 2003

* 32: Number of diapers the Rehring quadruplets use each day

* 6: Hours of sleep the quadruplets' mother, Kim Rehring, gets on a good night