We’re celebrating pregnancy and birth with this new series that asks readers to share the story of how their baby came into the world.  Being pregnant for the second time, Silje Andersen-Cooke had no idea what would happen at the date scan.

Since the lawyer and her partner Jordan already had an 18-month-old son named Mads, they were sure that this pregnancy would go well. They thought they knew what to expect the second time. Unless they were told there were not one, not two, but three little heartbeats.

Because of COVID rules, Silje almost went to the meeting by herself, which she is glad she didn’t do. “Because I’ve done this before, I thought it would be easy and just a scan.” But Jordan did show up, which was a huge relief. “That news was too much for me to handle by myself,” she told Honey. Children rising.

That day was the first time for everyone in the room, even the ultrasound tech, who had never scanned triplets before. “I think she might have felt a little unsure to tell us. The probe was in my belly, and at first I was a little quiet. It’s never a good sign when they’re quiet, she said.

“Please stop counting, that must be it!”He asked us how we got pregnant—through IVF or on our own? He then said, “Let me show you what I can see.” That was such a strange question that it shocked me. Take a look at this beat. “Well done!” “Here’s one more.” When we saw each other, we thought, “Twins!” Then they said, “Here’s another one.” I told them, “Please stop counting; that must be it!”

“Jordan was laughing and thinking it was the coolest and funniest thing ever.” He had to see all of them again because he was so shocked. But Silje wanted to know everything at once: what would they have to change because of the pregnancy? What were the risks? Would they have to move? Jordan told her to stay cool and that they would figure it out.

Read also: “You’re Not Alone”: How to Deal with Picky Eaters There were three babies in the group, and each had its own placenta and gestational sac. Even though the pregnancy went as smoothly as it could have with triplets, which are always a high risk, it was very hard on the body.

“It was faster and bigger.” At 24 weeks, it looked like the baby was almost full term, and everything was getting longer quickly. During the first few weeks, I had pain in my groin area, a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions, and a very itchy rash on my stomach. Silje told me. Silje stopped labor at 30 weeks. Because of the risk of going into labor early, she tried to rest as much as she could while riding with her little one.

The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital multiples center made sure the babies’ growth stayed on track with appointments and scans every two weeks. But Silje knew that she could have to give birth at any time, even if everything went well.

As Silje was pregnant with triplets, she was in a lot of pain, so the choice had to also take that into account. The moment that made Silje’s pregnancy with triplets “worth it” He asked if they could think about giving birth at 34 weeks. He thought that all three babies were ready to be born because he was getting close to 36 weeks, which is the longest a woman can be pregnant with triplets.

“I was fine, but I was so sad that I said I couldn’t go on.” I was worn out and needed a date to hold my attention. “I wanted to wait until 35 weeks, but I was tired and hadn’t slept yet,” he said. The hospital offered to take her in that same day, but the couple chose to spend two more days with Mads and calm down.

She was also ready for the chance that she might not see the babies after she was born after a tour of the NICU. This depended on her health.

When they were admitted, a CT scan showed that Ada, the smallest of the triplets, was having trouble getting food. Even though it wasn’t an emergency, they knew they had to give birth soon. Silje was put on the emergency list for the next day, when the triplets would be 34 weeks and 5 days old.

“When I woke up early the next morning, the sunrise was calm, and our room had a window. I thought, ‘Okay, I’m going to have three babies today; this is going to happen; I can do it.'”