Against All Odds: The Marvelous Journey of a Couple Embracing Identical Triplets
Proud parents Ian and Karen Gilbert with triplets Ffion, Maddison, and Paige [Caters].
Rewritten: Ian and Karen Gilbert are the proud parents of triplets named Ffion, Maddison, and Paige
Bouncing baby girls Ffion, Maddison, and Paige are now home for the first time after spending six weeks in intensive care. But the girls are only here thanks to the determination of proud parents Karen and Ian Gilbert, who say they twice defied doctors' calls to terminate the pregnancy. Medical professionals feared the rare pregnancy - caused by a single egg splitting into three - could have ended in tragedy. Thankfully, Ffion, Maddison, and Paige - born weighing just 3.8lbs, 3.5lbs, and 3.4lbs - are now doing well aged eight weeks.
Rewritten: Ffion, Maddison, and Paige, the three adorable baby girls, have finally returned home after spending six weeks in intensive care. Their proud parents, Karen and Ian Gilbert, deserve all the credit for their perseverance in deciding not to terminate the pregnancy, despite doctors' concerns about the rarity of their triplets being conceived from a single egg splitting into three. At birth, the girls weighed only 3.8lbs, 3.5lbs, and 3.4lbs, respectively, but now, at eight weeks old, they are thriving and doing well.
Karen, 32, from Pontypool, Monmouthshire, gave birth two months early by cesarean section on August 2nd. She shared, "It's been crazy. I still feel like someone's going to tell me I've had my time with them now and take them away." The journey began after getting married, going on a honeymoon to New York, and returning to find out they were expecting.
Initially, they thought it was one baby, but at eight weeks, Karen experienced severe pains. They feared a miscarriage, but to their surprise, it was three babies fighting for space. The pregnancy took its toll, but Karen is now taking her time to recover and get to know her three beautiful girls. "Their personalities are already starting to shine through, and I can't wait to get to know them better." she expressed with excitement.
Despite being eight weeks old, the three girls are still tiny, weighing just six pounds each, not even the size of an average newborn. Proud father Ian, 34, a business manager, expressed, "At first, they didn't look real, and you could pick them up with one hand. It was a bit of a shock. Now that we've got them home, we are coming to terms with it. They are starting to feel like our own."
The journey to bring these triplets into the world was not without its challenges. Karen experienced a frightening incident when she fell down the stairs while pregnant. Thankfully, they made it through, and now the identical triplets share the same placenta and fluid, which has taken a toll on Karen's body as they all grew rapidly and put strain on her muscles.
Medical professionals were concerned about twin-to-twin syndrome due to their identical nature, where the babies can take each other's fluid or space and lead to complications. Despite being offered terminations by different hospitals, the couple couldn't consider that option because these babies were theirs. They underwent regular scans to ensure the babies were growing well.
During the last scan at Neuvill Hall Hospital in Abergavenny, Karen experienced severe pain, which escalated into contractions, and she gave birth at the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport, but they were transferred back for antenatal care.
Now, the parents are relieved to have their three girls home.
Karen, the administrative assistant, expressed her concerns during the challenging journey of bringing the triplets home. "We were worried the hospital wouldn't have enough beds, and we'd have to split them up. It would have been horrible. There was also the worry that one would be ready to come home before the others. Luckily, we managed to keep them together. The doctors thought it could be up to three months before we could bring them home, so we feel privileged to have them here with us so soon."
Julian Hayman, the press officer for Neuvill Hall Hospital, shared the excitement among the midwives about having a triplet birth at the Royal Gwent Hospital. "Everyone involved has taken great care of the girls to ensure their speedy return home."
