Do you think babies are God’s amazing blessing for us down here?
When a mother finds out she’s expecting a baby, it’s usually a very exciting time. However, sometimes this great news can get really scary when medical issues are uncovered and you find out the mother or baby is in grave danger. When you have a baby, there is a lot of prayer. Prayers that they are healthy and everything goes as planned.
A woman from England named Becki-Jo is the mother of an adorable little girl named Indiana. Becki-Jo was feeling nauseous and unwell one day, and since she had already been pregnant, she suspected she might get pregnant again. Little did she know her body was preparing for something BIG. “I was very ill and had a really bad headache, so I booked an early scan and that’s when I found out I was expecting triplets,” Becki-Jo said.
“It was the biggest shock of my life! We don’t have triplets in the family, so it came completely out of the blue.” With no family history of triplets, Becki-Jo was forced to figure out this odd pregnancy for the most part on her own. She and her loved ones gathered and prepared to welcome these three little babies into the family!
At 31 weeks pregnant, Becki-Jo was rushed to the hospital and it was time to give birth! However, things got scary after their three boys Rocco, Roman and Rohan arrived. Becki-Jo said the boys were not healthy at all when they were born. “When they were born, Rocco was 3 pounds 5, Roman 3 pounds 6, and Rohan 3 pounds 10,” said Becki-Jo.
The three young babies were immediately taken to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). There they were cared for for three long, hard weeks before they were allowed to return home with their worried mother. With her breathing tubes, cords, and wires removed, Becki-Jo was finally able to get a good look at her precious cubs’ faces. At that moment, she noticed something strange: all the boys looked the same!
The odds of giving birth to identical triplets range from 1 in 60,000 to 1 in 200 million. In fact, these boys are the youngest of what is believed to be only a handful of naturally conceived sets of identical triplets in the UK. Becki-Jo was so skeptical that her cubs were truly identical triplets, so she took an exchange of her cubs’ DNA and sent it to a lab to confirm if they were. Sure enough the results were positive, Becki-Jo was in fact the mother of a set of rare identical triplets! “I was surprised because I expected them not to be identical,” Becki-Jo said. “But then I’m usually the only one who can tell them apart, so that explains a lot!”
“I was always convinced that wasn’t the case because I was told that during my pregnancy,” Becki-Jo said. “I got in touch with a company who sent me some swabs and within three days of sending them back they told me the boys are identical… We’re not moving fast because people always stop us when we are out and ask if they are the same.” But even though they’re identical, Becki-Jo can easily tell her little ones apart. “Rohan is the loud one, he’s always shouting,” said Becki-Jo. “Rocco is usually pretty chilled, but he can also be feisty, while Roman usually complains about not wanting to share. They always crawl behind the same toy and try to reach it before their brothers. Indiana loves her, she’s not the least bit jealous – I feel a little sorry for her when I think about what it’s going to be like growing up with three little brothers!”
Taking care of all these kids isn’t an easy task, especially since Becki-Jo already has Indiana. But the young mom works hard and has a wonderful 17-year-old sister, Lauren, who comes by almost every day to help Becki-Jo. The sweet triplets use around 130 diapers and four packs of wet wipes a week. A pack of formula lasts about two days in her house and the washing machine is used about three times a day! Before having Indiana, Becki-Jo hoped to train as a neonatal nurse. Even if she has to pause her education and career for the time being, she is looking forward to pursuing this passion even more after the birth of her triplets.
“All the help and medical care that we have received has been wonderful,” added Becki-Jo. “I’m just so happy that they’re all doing so well now.” So what are the odds of having identical triplets? Well, identical triplets are conceived when the fertilized egg divides twice, which is very rare.
In fact, the odds of this occurring without fertility treatment have been given as between one in 60,000 and one in 200 million! If twins or triplets share a common membrane in the womb, they must be identical (identical). If not, the placentas are indistinguishable from those of non-identical (dizygous) siblings, and only DNA testing can confirm that they are identical.
These three little babies are not only adorable, but so darn cute!
Raising triplets is no easy task, but we know that God will provide for Becki-Jo as she raises all four of her children. We already know this family is so special and the likelihood of these triplets being born shows that God wants them here and that He wants to use them in incredible ways! Stay strong, Becki-Jo, and hold onto your little babies, for they are precious gifts from the Lord!
We pray for these boys and their sister as they grow up. May God bless Becki-Jo and her amazing family! We know that God will be her provider, her healer, her
