Wikipedia's got an answer to this one:

Some species are hermaphroditic and self-fertilizing, but most tardigrade species have both male and female individuals, which copulate by a variety of methods. The females lay eggs; those of Austeruseus faeroensis are spherical, 80 μm in diameter, with a knobbled surface. In other species, the eggs can be ovoid, as in Hypsibius annulatus, or may be spherical with pyramidal or bottle-shaped surface ornamentation. Some species appear to have no males, suggesting that parthenogenesis is common.

Both sexes have a single gonad (an ovary or testis) located above the intestine. A pair of ducts run from the testis, opening through a single gonopore in front of the anus. Females have a single oviduct opening either just above the anus or directly into the rectum, which forms a cloaca.

The male may place his sperm into the cloaca, or may penetrate the female's cuticle and place the sperm straight into her body cavity, for it to fertilise the eggs directly in the ovary. A third mechanism in species such as H. annulatus is for the male to place the sperm under the female's cuticle; when she moults, she lays eggs into the cast cuticle, where they are fertilised. Courtship occurs in some aquatic tardigrades, with the male stroking his partner with his cirri to stimulate her to lay eggs; fertilisation is then external.

Up to 30 eggs are laid, depending on the species. Terrestrial tardigrade eggs have drought-resistant shells. Aquatic species either glue their eggs to a substrate or leave them in a cast cuticle. The eggs hatch within 14 days, and the hatchlings use their stylets to open their egg shells.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrades#Reproduction_and_life_cycle

So it sounds like tardigrades decided “why not try ALL the options?”

They do it frequently, like your mom.

They freaky like, and only like that

Tardily

Why? Looking for some pointers?