Young Mom Gives Birth To Triplets Only To Be Blindsided By The Doctors’ News
Pregnancy is different for every woman, and just because a woman has already had a child doesn't mean she knows exactly what's in store the next time around. One mom from England learned this firsthand when her suspicions of being pregnant again were confirmed — but this time, with triplets. However, the news of triplets was nothing compared to the shock that her doctor had coming.
Single Mom
Becki-Jo Allen was a 23-year-old single mother living in a suburb of Liverpool, England, known as Gateacre. Her three-year-old daughter, Indiana, was her pride and joy, but soon their family would take a dramatic turn.
Familiar Feeling
Becki-Jo began feeling nauseous and uncomfortable in the mornings. This led to a slight suspicion that she might be pregnant again. So, she went to her doctor's office to see, but she was not prepared for what the sonogram would reveal.
Three Times The Surprise
The doctor told her she was, indeed, pregnant... with triplets! Becki-Jo could hardly believe it. She suspected she may have been carrying one child, but three? The young mom decided to take it in stride, but it wasn't easy.
Here They Come!
At 31 weeks, her water broke, and she was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital. Doctors would have to work quickly and carefully if they wanted to deliver all three of her children safely.
Rocco, Roman, and Rohan
After several hours, Becki-Jo finally delivered triplet boys via Cesarean section. She named them Rocco, Roman, and Rohan. The boys, however, had a number of medical issues because they were so premature.
Intensive Care
Her newborns were rushed to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the hospital so staff could give them the appropriate treatment, keep them breathing properly, and monitor their vital signs. Becki-Jo was terrified for their safety.
Readying The House
While the triplets were in the intensive care unit, Becki-Jo tried to take her mind off of the stress by setting up their new bedroom. As a single mom who'd just given birth to three children, getting the house ready for their arrival would be a challenge, to say the least.
Stressed But Ready
She loaded up on clothing, books, and other baby goods so she'd be completely prepared to welcome her three new bundles of joy. She knew it was going to be a lot of work, but she was ready to be a loving mother to all four of her children.
Seeing Triple
Finally, after six tense weeks, the boys were allowed to leave the hospital, and Becki-Jo couldn't have been happier. When she finally got to see how their features had matured, though, she was taken aback. They didn't just look similar—they looked identical to one another.
Testing Her Theory
Identical triplets—especially via natural means—were rare. Becki-Jo consulted a specialist at the Multiple Births Foundation who told her she could administer a DNA test to determine whether the boys were identical. Becki-Jo swabbed the inside of the babies' cheeks and sent them off to the lab for review. Three days later, the result came back.
Rare Phenomena
To the surprise of Becki-Jo and everyone she knew, the test confirmed that her triplets were identical! According to various medical sources, the chances of having identical triplets fall somewhere between one in 60,000 and one in 200 million.
Who's Who
After Becki-Jo was able to process that her newborns were nearly a genetic miracle, she started worrying about something else: how could she tell these three boys apart? Without any prior experience raising or living with twins, it was a huge concern for the young mother.
Distinct Personalities
Unsurprisingly, it didn't take long for the boys' personalities to show Becki-Jo that'd she'd never have to worry about mixing them up. She said Rohan was the loud one, Rocco would go with the flow, and Roman preferred to keep all his toys to himself!
Crowd Stoppers
Naturally, it was tough for her to run errands around her town. Everyone wanted to stop her and discuss the triplets, too. When people found out all three were identical, their jaws would hit the floor. Still, Becki-Jo was proud of the attention they received.
Meeting Their Sister
Something else Becki-Jo considered when she brought the boys home was how Indiana would handle the situation. She was used to being the center of her mom's world, but with the triplets, would she feel unimportant?
Love At First Sight
Of course, Indiana fell in love with her brothers as soon as she met them. She always joined her mother on outings with the triplets, and even though she was young, she helped out whenever she could.
3x The Care
Of course, all the commotion throughout the day made for some serious naptimes. Between all three of them, they would take about 130 naps a week! Becki-Jo would go through about four packs of baby wipes and nearly four packs of baby formula a week.
Big Birthdays
Birthdays were unique in Becki-Jo's household, too, since three of her four children got to celebrate them together. Indiana always helped her mother with all of the decorations and gifts to make her brothers' birthdays as special as possible.
So Grateful
What began as a difficult time in Becki-Jo and Indiana's lives turned out to be a rewarding experience for all. The young mom of four still has a lot on her plate, but it helps to remember just how special her family is.
Not Alone
When Becki-Jo remembers what it was like to get the news that she was having triplets she still feels surprised, but little did she know, another pregnant woman had also just received some news from her doctors — and it was even more shocking.
Starting A Family
Just a few short months after their wedding, Bethani and Tim Webb of Hythe in Alberta, Canada, were ecstatic to learn they were going to have a baby. They'd initially planned to wait a year before growing their family, but they couldn't help but welcome the news.
Strange Question
A few months afterward, during a routine visit at the doctor's office, the couple was asked an unexpected question: did either of their families have histories of multiple births? Confused, Tim and Bethani both shook their heads.
Counting Babies
That was when the doctor gave the couple the shock of a lifetime. "She turned the screen and she started counting babies and she counted baby one, baby two, baby three..." Bethani recalled. "You can stop at baby three. Baby three is enough... and then she counted out the fourth baby."
Starting To Panic
Bethani immediately started to panic. Obviously, quadruplets would be an enormous challenge—and one that was incredibly rare. In fact, in 2015, there were only 228 sets of quadruplets born in the entire United States!
Extremely Rare
Most families with quadruplets had the aid of a fertility treatment; there's also only a one-in-729,000 chance of having quadruplets naturally. So it was understandable that, when Bethani and Tim shared the news with their families, they assumed they were joking!
Changing Their Lifestyle
Of course, they were entirely serious. The couple quickly considered the logistics. Bethani said that she "realized that we didn't have a vehicle that could support four babies." They would also need to temporarily move in with Tim's mother, as their one-bedroom apartment simply wasn't big enough for six people.
Harrowing Costs
Their finances would be another issue. It's a costly affair to raise just one child, let alone four! "Four strollers, four car seats, four cribs. Diapers—diapers everywhere," Bethani said. All the while, the due date continued to loom...
Four Beautiful Girls
The pregnancy itself went well until, at 33 weeks, Bethani was transferred to the larger Royal Alexandra Hospital in nearby Edmonton for a C-section. It was there that the couple finally welcomed their daughters—Abigail, Emily, Grace, and McKayla—into the world!
A Miracle Of Girls
Remember how there was only a one-in-729,000 chance of having quadruplets through natural means? Well, the Webbs were even luckier, because the odds of all four of their babies being girls were just one in 15 million!
Feeling Blessed
There are few guarantees with any pregnancy, but each one of the Webbs' quadruplets was as healthy as she could be. "I feel overwhelmingly awesome that the babies are here," Tim said. "I feel blessed."
Proud Dad
Becoming a dad took on a special meaning for Tim, who'd lost his father just a year before the quadruplets were born. Thankfully, he'd have plenty of chances to make his late father proud!
Totally Outnumbered
Of course, nothing could help Tim prepare for being the only man in the house. He was largely outnumbered! Nonetheless, he was happy to have such a beautiful family, and he tried to take his role as a new dad in stride—exhausting as it might have been.
Silver Lining
Though the babies were a handful, Bethani and Tim were completely in love with their big family—and they made sure to see the silver lining in everything, even when times were tough. "At least [we] get one nice perk to it all," Bethani joked. "It was nice that we didn't have to pick our favorite [baby names]."
Unusual Problem
Despite being able to use all of their top name choices, the couple came across one unique problem: trying to tell each baby apart! They needed to find some way to help make the girls look visually distinct...
Color-Coded Babies
Bethani and Tim developed a nifty color-coding system. They selected yellow for Grace, purple for Emily, blue for Abigail, and pink for McKayla—though those colors would change slightly. (Grace would eventually wear red while Abigail wore green, for instance.)
Love To Match
They painted the girls' nails in designated colors, and the quadruplets would wear different-colored earrings once they were old enough to get their ears pierced. Still, Bethani and Tim enjoyed matching their daughters' outfits. How could they resist?
Still Individuals
Thankfully, Bethani and Tim observed that their daughters all displayed different personalities right away. It was important to them that they addressed each of their babies' needs—and recognized them as individuals.
Too Cute To Handle
With their rare birth and individual quirks, the young quadruplets and their adorable photos quickly took the internet by storm. Of course, one baby would be cute enough, but four identical babies were another story!
Help For The Family
Fortunately, the Webbs' unique situation caught the eye of their local community. Caring neighbors in their hometown of Hythe set up a GoFundMe campaign to help offset the enormous costs. Some even held fundraisers for the family!
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