The premature triplets, just home from hospital, were born eight weeks ago. Besotted mum and dad Ali O’Leary and Chris Deasy cradle their tots after fate — and a very special date — brought them three bundles of joy. Their arrival lifted the pain of losing a child when Ali suffered a miscarriage at the end of last November
The due date for the triplets was initially set for this week, on October 3. However, they arrived two days early, on August 1. The much-loved Georgia child, who is depicted cuddling with them, is four years old, and Lenny is quite adorable. Ted and Bruce are his siblings.
When I realized they were born on the exact day our first kid passed away, we were quite distraught, said Ali, 32. When the triplets were first delivered, I was angry because they were so small and I blamed my body for not being able to carry them for a longer period of time. However, I later understood that it was intended to be. They are our three little miracles, and we view them as a gift from heaven. It seems as though our former child is looking after them.
Ali’s search for her child with hope, despair and ultimately unending joy began late last year when she became pregnant. Her dreams of a growing family were shattered. But luckily it didn’t last long, when she became pregnant again in January.
When I discovered I was pregnant, it surprised me because I had never thought I could do it so soon. Due of my anxiety following the miscarriage, we underwent an early ultrasound at around seven weeks. I need some certainty so I can listen for the baby’s heartbeat. It was a shock at the time because the doctors said they could see two heartbeats and told us we were having twins. My sister has twins so I just laughed and said it runs in the family.
On March 15, when she was 12 weeks pregnant, she was shocked to find three heartbeats. There were three heartbeats flashing on the screen as they confirmed that it was a set of triplets as they had shown me. My only concern is the size of my bulge. They could only see one heartbeat because the other was at the rear, leading them to believe that I was simply carrying twins. However, the babies were bigger at the 12-week ultrasound, allowing them to view all three of them.
Ali is scanned every two weeks because the pregnancy is thought to be high-risk. Thankfully, everything went smoothly until she was 31 weeks pregnant when her water broke. The doctors wanted me to try to stick with them for as long as possible because they were born prematurely. But I went into labor two days later so the doctors had to give birth by cesarean section, on August 2. Because of the premature birth, the babies were very small at 3lb 9oz, 4lb and 3lb 4oz.
It truly was a triple gift that was sent to earth from heaven! We lost one baby, but three minor miracles were added. Before last week, the triplets had spent several weeks in the hospital.
