Shaun and I had our 9 month old daughter, Jayda, when we decided to try for a second. Jayda was the easiest baby; she slept through the night from weeks old and was a chubby little milk monster. So, we thought we’d try for a second and have them close together. We found out in May (2018) that we were pregnant at just 4 weeks. Because our first pregnancy had gone so smoothly, our GP advised us that we didn’t need to have a dating scan, and instead, just wait until the 12 week scan. Fast forward to July 26th (the day before Jayda’s 1st birthday), we went in for our 12 week ultrasound. I had the surprise of my life when the sonographer told us that we were having twins! I couldn’t breathe, I was in such shock! The sonographer continued the scan and was measuring the two little babies that we could see, while I was frozen with shock. Around ten minutes later, he paused for a moment before telling us that there was a third baby. I immediately started crying, not because I wouldn’t have loved three babies, but because I was worried about them. I specifically remember telling Shaun that I’d never [personally] known any triplets, and I’d thought the reason was because they hadn’t survived their pregnancies.
We didn’t get any further information until the following week when were booked in to see an obstetrician who was qualified to look at multiple pregnancies. (Yes, this was one of the most stressful waits of our lives!). At 13 weeks and 3 days we had our second ultrasound and found out that we were having spontaneous monochorionic triamniotic triplets. This meant that all of our [identical] girls shared one placenta and posed a whole new set of risks on top of the risks associated with a triplet pregnancy. Two of our girls also had marginal cord insertions, which meant there was a risk that they might not have an equal share of the placenta.
Over the next 4 months we had countless ultrasounds and OB appointments to keep a close eye on how our girls were growing. Because they shared one placenta, we had to watch for any signs of TTTS (Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome) and any growth discrepancies between the girls. We were advised of the risks of our pregnancy at every appointment and were even told to wait before making any big preparations, such as buying a new car and decking out our house with 3 of everything. Each ultrasound we were filled with fear and anxiety of what we might find, and after each appointment we breathed a sigh of relief knowing our girls were growing well for at least one more week. As well as the emotional stress that we experienced over these months, I also had the physical demands of growing my triplets while looking after our very active 1 year old.
Fast forward to the end of November, when we had up to 4 pregnancy related appointments a week and found out that one of our babes had sIUGR (selective Intrauterine Growth Restriction) – this was one of the deciding factors for our chosen caesarean date. A close eye was kept on our girls until it was decided that they were safer out than in. Our cesarean was then moved up even earlier because they thought one of our girls had stopped growing at around 1.3kg.
On the 10th of December [32 weeks & 2 days gestation], at 11:49am, 11:51am & 11:52am, our beautiful identical triplets were brought into this world and instantly doubled our family. Sophia (1.8kg), Ellexia (1.9kg), and Aurora (1.7kg) spent an uneventful 3 weeks in NICU & SCN feeding and growing before coming home on the 1st, 2nd & 5th of January. They are now extremely cute (I may be biased!) almost 6 month old’s, and loving life with their adoring big sister, Jayda. We love sharing our super cute, and sometimes absolutely crazy, girls on our Instagram page: @triplets.and.a.baby & Facebook page: www.facebook.com/triplets.and.a.baby
I hope you enjoyed reading about our triplet pregnancy!
