When the adorable kids were born in February, they each weighed just more than 5 lb, which is around 2 lb less than the typical newborn in the UK. Despite the parents’ anxieties, the babies who were born 14 weeks early are now growing up healthy. We don’t know if they will live because they are so small, said Kerrie-Anne Ellison, a proud mother of two daughters and a six-month-old son. Next to our hands, they seem enormous. They appeared quite frail in the incubator, and they had to spend 9 weeks in the hospital.
However, they are such tiny soldiers. Every day, the three of them have grown stronger. After having trouble giving birth to Paige’s sister, Kerrie-Anne, 33, of Bromborough, Merseyside, and her husband Simon, 33, a print finisher, were thrilled to learn they were expecting a child. After two years of trying, the couple eventually turned to an assisted reproductive facility in April 2015. The physicians found that I wasn’t making any estrogen and that I couldn’t conceive naturally, according to Kerrie-Anne, a full-time mother. Three eggs were discharged and fertilized after she received an injection that stimulated her ovaries.
Treatment at Arrowe Park Hospital, Merseyside ended in August 2015 and Kerrie became pregnant. She said: “Simon and I were delighted but it was not until I had an ultrasound that we were told that there were three heartbeats. We were very surprised.” The pregnancy went smoothly until the 26th week when an ultrasound revealed a problem with blood flow between the babies. Kerrie-Anne was diagnosed with preeclampsia, a life-threatening illness for her and her unborn baby.
She said: “It was scary to hear what was happening. It caused restricted blood flow to one in three triplets.
Three babies were delivered safely by emergency cesarean section by doctors at Arrowe Park. Rylee weighs 2 pounds and ounces, while Skye and her sister Cole each weigh 1 pounds and ounces. I’ve never seen a baby so little, Kerri-Anne remarked. They kept gripping our fingers, eventually wrapping their entire hand around one of our tiny fingers. However, all three of them were healthy enough to breathe on their own after just one day of artificial ventilation. After a week, we were finally permitted to hold them, and Kerrie-Anne recalls that it was a lovely time. Now that we are permitted to take them home, Paige can play the role of a true big sister to them, which she adores. Each of them is doing well and gaining stronger. Excellent to be at home together.”
And the gorgeous trio have developed their own personalities. “It’s interesting to see how they differ,” says Kerrie-Anne. Rylee is the first and oldest child. She is strong-willed and all she wants to do is be inquisitive. “Skye is the boss. She has the biggest personality, she even tries to talk. Cole, on the other hand, is cold and lazy. I had to wake him up from the bed and feed him. However, he is the most greedy and eats the most.” He currently weighs 10lb 10oz, while Rylee is 9lb 13oz and Skye is only 9lb 5oz. They finish five bottles of milk a day and I finish 21 diapers a day.
“Paige is my little assistant and I couldn’t do it without her. She used to sit on the knee of one of the triplets and bottle-feed them while I fed the others.
“And if a person is crying, she keeps them busy, which is a huge help for me. Now that they’re laughing and laughing, she loves making them giggle. But the family may soon have to look for a bigger home. “We have a three-bedroom house at the moment but it has become too cramped so we will have to consider moving somewhere with a little more space,” explains Kerrie-Anne. “We had to switch from a small Ford Fiesta to a six-seater.”
