A mother defied the odds by giving birth to naturally conceived identical triplets, tripling the size of her family in an instant.
Shocked Katie Craw, 26, from Pentre Maelor, Wales said she and partner Rob Ellis almost fainted when they were told their second child was actually three at their 12-week scan.
Triplets are usually non-identical and result from the ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ก๐๐๐ of two eggs, one of which develops into twins. But Katie is one of just a handful of women in Britain to have identical triplets โ known as monozygotic โ where the ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ egg splits into three after ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐.
It makes miracle tots Tommy, Joshua, and Eddie โ born by ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ โ genetically identical.
Katie and Rob initially had to leave the totsโ hospital tags on in order to tell them apart.
She said: โWhen I found out I was pregnant with three I thought โWe canโt afford a big car or a bigger house.โ It was a lot to take in.
โBut my nanna said to me things happen for a reason and these are the cards life has dealt you.
โAnd now theyโre here, I just feel like Iโm in a bubble of happiness. Theyโre absolutely smashing.โ
Jacob, the coupleโs four-year-old son, was born in 2015, and they wanted him to be in school when they started trying for a second child. He is pictured with his younger brotherโs scans
Katie saw her midwife weekly and was scanned every two weeks to make sure the babies were developing normally. However, around 26 weeks, the Wrexham specialists began to be concerned.
Tommy, who was the presenting triplet closest to the birth canal, looked like he wasnโt gaining weight.
Katie was given a steroid ๐๐j๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ and booked in to see an expert in multiple births at Liverpool Womensโ Hospital 35 miles away.
There, docs said they thought it was unlikely the triplets would be identical and thought the Welsh hospital had made an error.
Katie added: โBefore the doctor scanned me he had a look at my notes and he said โI donโt want to rain on your parade but the chances of you being pregnant with identical triplets are minuscule โ Iโve never seen it myself โ so the team in Wrexham have probably got it wrong.โ
โHe was convinced heโd find two separate ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐s that had fused together. We were resigned to the fact we were having triplets by this point so I wasnโt really bothered about how they got there โ weโd already got over the ๐ โ๐๐๐.
When he realized they were identical, even he was amazed.
โHe said heโd eat his words as it was something heโd never seen before. He said it was textbook stuff that he was seeing.โ
The kids continued to develop at an incredible rate, and Katie was scheduled for ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ฆ at 32 weeks, which is standard procedure for multiple deliveries.
Katie, a former prison worker, started having ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐s at 28 weeks.
She spent five days back in Liverpool as they tried to stop them and was then sent home for bed rest.
However at 30 weeks and one day, they started up again and she was rushed by ambulance to a hospital in Wrexham.
Welder Rob, 29, was at her bedside as she had an ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ on February 9, with Tommy born at 17.50 weighing 2lbs 11.5oz, Joshua at 17.51 weighing 3lbs 4.5oz, and Eddie at 17.52 at 3lbs 3.5oz.
โI was so scared but it was like a bubble of excitement, people were making jokes, making me smile, the whole team was amazing.
โTommy came out and took a big breath and ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ed and the whole of the theatre cheered. And it was the same with Joshua and Eddie. I was full of adrenaline.โ
It meant she and Rob had to spend the next eight weeks juggling work and childcare for Jacob while visiting the tots.
Thankfully Josh and Eddie only spent almost seven weeks in hospital and Tommy came home ten days after them on April 10 โ with the family together for the first time.
Overjoyed Katie added: โIt was difficult not having us all together. There were times when I felt really lonely and I could never see this day.
โNone of them have really had any issues and a lot of other mums do so I feel really lucky.
โI keep thinking Iโm going to ๐๐๐๐ โ or have an emotional day but Iโm just so happy weโre all home and cracking on.โ
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She further claims that the generosity shown to the new family of six by people of their neighborhood has overwhelmed them.
Neighbors have anonymously brought diapers and other items to their doorstep to assist the young couple financially.
Katie and Rob describe their babiesโ arrival as a beam of sunlight in the midst of C.o.v.i.d-19โs gloom.
โWe really do feel so lucky. They say it takes a village to raise a child and itโs so true,โ Katie added.
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