"Congratulations! You're going to be a daddy again... and again... and again!"
Positive. I was definitely pregnant. The first time I was pregnant, I’d prepared a special card for my husband, Brent, to open on Christmas Day when he was deployed flying missions over Afghanistan. Now I was too shocked to plan a dramatic unveiling. I marched downstairs to Brent and our 11-month-old son, Luke.
“Congratulations! You’re going to be a daddy again -- I’m pregnant.” But that day’s announcement is dwarfed in our memory by the ones soon to follow.
We began immediately sharing the wonderful news with family and friends. Our parents lived in different states, so that meant phone calls. Everyone was a little surprised that we were expanding our family already, but happy. We were excited that our children would be close in age. My girlfriend, Cathy, would be my OB/GYN. As a special favor, she scheduled me for an early ultrasound at 7 weeks pregnant.
Unfortunately, at 6 weeks pregnant, I experienced some bleeding. We had imminent travel plans for Brent’s college reunion and we wanted to know if we should be concerned. When the doctor examined me, I was relieved she found a heartbeat. In fact, TWO heartbeats! We were pregnant with twins. I could not stop laughing. When I went to tell Brent, he tentatively guessed by my huge smile, “Twins?” Twins! We were shocked and absolutely thrilled.
We called all our family. They got quite a kick out of our second pregnancy phone call. Then, we hurried out of town to the reunion. How fun it was to tell everyone there that we were pregnant with twins!
We returned home and I was excited for my next day’s doctor’s appointment. Gratefully, Brent was able to attend this one. We were a little nervous, but excited to see if everything was still OK. During the ultrasound, our doctor Cathy did a strange thing. Her face turned serious when she said, “I just need to make some measurements,” and she turned the ultrasound screen away from us. Brent later said it was one of the scariest moments of his life and we studied her intently. Then, the corners of Cathy’s mouth began to curl up into a smile.
She turned the monitor back to us, “I think there are three in there.”
Brent likes to say, at that moment, we had no witty remarks. The shock was immediate then we both started to laugh, albeit nervous laughter. Brent began, like most fathers, to think of the financial implications. Maybe that was why our lunch date after the appointment became a trip to Taco Bell at the Food Court.
Imagine our third set of pregnancy phone calls. My parents said, “Don’t go back to the doctor, they might find another one.” Brent’s mom was happy but started thinking of how much help we would need and Brent’s dad immediately started talking about college and poverty. We held an impromptu dinner for a few of our friends, passed the ultrasound around, and made the big announcement. Everyone knew something was up, but no one came close to guessing this one!
Thus began a remarkable journey of blessings beyond our imaginations.
Since triplets are nearly always preemies, our goal was to stay pregnant as long as possible. We started folic acid supplements and began a 4000-calorie-per-day diet (that’s a lot of milk shakes!). At 24 weeks, taking care of our babies meant bed rest. I was fortunate to be at home instead of in the hospital. We also accepted help in caring for our home and for Luke. I felt so lazy! But in the big picture, bed rest would be only a few months of my life and would help them get a good start. So I read books, watched movies, and got hooked on Alias – anything to keep me off my feet. I successfully gained 60 pounds and owned an almost 4-foot waist.
The pregnancy was difficult, but on March 27, 2004, after 35 weeks, 2 days our blessings: William James (6 lbs, 3 oz), Camille Marie (5 lbs), and Ana Elisabeth (5 lbs 2 oz) arrived by C-section. Thank God! Cami and Ana were immediately brought to “room-in” with us, while Will spent 3 days in the neo-natal intensive care unit.
Five days later, we laid all three in the same crib at home and began a wild first year. Initially, each day we had over 9 hours of baby feeding, 24 diaper changes, 30 dirty bibs and bottles, and 3 liters of formula (after quitting nursing at 2 months).
We were blessed with help. Our church and other friends brought us meals 3 days a week for 5 months. Loved ones rotated through our home for several months. Brent’s grandmother paid off his mother’s mortgage so she could retire and help for a year. Now a kind college student helps us on a part time basis.
Will, Cami and Ana are now two, Luke is three and we are so thankful for this adventure. We have learned to humbly accept help and have experienced the joy of God’s provision. We have learned how lazy we were and how much God can accomplish. We have learned how little is truly in our hands and how much God holds in his huge loving ones. Thank God for his blessings, even his unexpected ones.
If you are expecting triplets or more, check out these excellent resources: tripletconnection.org/ and www.mostonline.org/
Brent & Lisa live in Leavenworth, KS with their four small children.
Brent and Lisa Mesquit