Motherhood is a beautiful part of a woman’s life but it is not a cake walk, especially if you suddenly have to raise your kids single handedly! Becki-Jo Allen was faced with this reality when she found out she was pregnant for the second time after having a daughter. The 23-year-old was in for a surprise, she wasn’t having just one child but three! Becki-Jo had to raise 4 kids under the prying eyes of spectators and one question about her triplets was bothering the young mother. This story of a single mom with 4 young kids is the discovery of ‘once in a lifetime’ birth and has the internet talking about it!
It’s Time To Expand
Becki-Jo and her boyfriend, Liam Tierney lived in Liverpool, England with their daughter, Indiana. The couple wanted to expand their family and when Becki-Jo revealed she was pregnant, Liam’s happiness knew no bounds. But Becki was feeling off. Right from the beginning, Becki was experiencing nausea and extreme headaches which were a step ahead from her previous pregnancy. The couple decided to visit the doctor for an early checkup and waited with bated breaths for the ultrasound results. Nothing in the world could have prepared them for the surprise they were about to receive.
Triple The Blessings
The results brought the biggest surprise for the family. Becki-Jo was expecting triplets! “It was the biggest shock of my life!” Becki-Jo recalled in an interview. “We haven’t got any triplets in the family, so it came completely out of the blue.” Statistics show that the chance of conceiving triplets is only one in 9000. The chances decrease if the mother is young and has not used any fertility treatment. Becki-Jo for that matter was only 23 and conceived naturally. The odds of Becki falling pregnant with triplets were so low that they became a sensation.
A Scary Birth
Becki-Jo’s pregnancy grew easier with time and she was excited to welcome not one but 3 new members to her clan. It was all going smoothly until Becki stated feeling contractions at 31 weeks. Normally a full term pregnancy lasts 39 weeks so at week 31, Becki’s babies were not ready for birth. As Becki was rushed to the hospital, the doctors decided to perform C section on her to save all 3 babies. Liam was scared to see his girlfriend and kids in danger but thankfully, they won the first battle.
Need For Intensive Care
The three boys- Roman, Rocco, and Rohan were fighters and survived the caesarian birth but they couldn’t stay with Becki. Time was crucial and the triplets had to be rushed into intensive care. All three babies weighed below 5 pounds, which is considered normal birth weight by most doctors. Rocco weighed three pounds and five ounces, Roman weighed three pounds and six ounces, and at three pounds and ten ounces, Rohan was the heaviest.
Health Risks To Overcome
Twins and triplets are more prone to health risks in the early stages of their life. From birth complications to congenial disabilities, they can face a lot of life threatening situations. Becki-Jo’s triplets spent 6 weeks in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit where doctors monitored their heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature, and blood pressure. Premature babies need external help to compensate for the development they missed in the womb so this time of intensive care is crucial. The interaction with the family is also an integral part of the process so the family often visited the triplets.
Arrival With A Shock
The parents had spent weeks preparing for their arrival by stocking on baby products and setting up the nursery. Thankfully, Becki-Jo’s triplets were healthy and left for their home after 6 weeks of intensive care. The couple assumed that their surprises were over and it will be smooth sailing thereafter. But on the very first night back home, Roman momentarily stopped breathing. Becki-Jo panicked but it was a one-time ordeal. The triplets have stayed healthy since then but the surprises were not yet over.
Something Is Not Right
While taking care of the babies, the parents started receiving more and more comments from people about the appearance of the triplets. Strangers wondered if they were identical since they looked very similar. Even though appearing similar is typical for triplets, most triplets are fraternal, meaning they stem from 3 different eggs. In some cases one egg splits making two of the triplets look more similar than the third. Becki-Jo wanted this mystery about her babies to end so she swabbed the inside of the triplets’ cheeks and sent it to the lab.
Once In A Lifetime Birth
One in 67 births is a multiple birth, where the mother gives birth to more than one baby. Most of these births are dizygotic which means the babies are born from 2 separate eggs. In Becki-Jo’s case, one egg split into two and then the second part split again. The odds of one egg separating into two are only 1 in 250 and this happened twice with Becki, making her triplets a very rare birth! Having identical triplets is so rare that one may never hear of it again in their lifetime.
Can’t Tell Them Apart
The triplets are identical in appearance but the parents can distinguish between them easily! Becki-Jo revealed her trick, “They’ve all got dark birthmarks between their eyebrows, but Roman’s is slightly darker than the others, and Rohan has got a birthmark on his leg as well.” Apart from the slight physical differences, the triplets have completely different personalities. As per the parents, where on one hand, Rohan shouts, Rocco goes with the flow easily and Roman refuses to share toys. The parents were quick to learn their differences and tell them apart.
Challenging Motherhood
Becki-Jo shares her struggles of parenting identical triplets on her Instagram page. Even though the triplets have stayed healthy ever since they came home after their time in the intensive care, they still pose a challenge. One of the major hurdles Becki faces ever day is running errands. Becki already has her hands full with 4 kids and then she gets stopped a lot in the streets by curious strangers who want to know more about her identical triplets. She may have a challenging job as a parent, but she is giving more than 100%!
Struggles Of A Single Mother
Becki-Jo was planning to train as a neo-natal nurse before her second pregnancy. Her desire has only increased after her triplets had to spend 6 weeks in Neonatal Intensive Care, where Becki would potentially work after training for it. But managing the house and her training is tough for her as a single mom. Liam, Becki-Jo’s boyfriend lives with his sister to help her around but takes out time to visit Becki and the kids. Even though Liam comes around to offer support, for the most part Becki is raising the 4 children as a single mother.
Babies Are Expensive
Becki-Jo quickly learned that caring for 3 babies was not going to be a walk in the park. The triplets went through 5 packs of wet wipes and around 130 diapers in a week but the expenses did not end here. The consumption of baby formula was also triple. Becki even had to run her washing machine thrice a day to keep up with the piling laundry. All in all, having triplets wasn’t exactly a smooth sailing for Becki-Jo, especially with an older child around.
The Big Sister
Becki’s daughter, Indiana played the role of a big sister impeccably. Not once did she show any jealously for her brothers, in fact she has been in love with them from the beginning. At the young age of 6, Indiana was already helping her mother in little ways to raise the triplets. Parenting 4 kids is chaotic but Becki loves her kids and all the struggles that come with raising triplets. She feels that every child is a blessing and in the journey of parenting them she has learned a whole lot about herself.
Insta Famous Family
Becki-Jo has a very active Instagram account with over 60k followers. Her posts receive a lot of attention and Becki embraces it completely. With so many eyes on her kids, Becki is comfortable in sharing her journey with her followers. From sharing snapshots of her daily life to sharing parenting advice, the mom of 4 is doing it all for the gram! Her followers ask her anything and everything from how she cares for the triplets to how she handles tantrums but she is happy to answer every question thrown at her.
Not The Only Unique Family
Having identical triplets is a rare occurrence. Even so, Becki-Jo’s family wasn’t the only unique one. 4 sets of identical triplets were born in 2015 in the US so Becki isn’t the only one facing a unique challenge. There are other families that Becki can look up to for advice and tips. Back in 2014, Karen Gilbert said in an interview that she painted the nails of her triplets in different colors to tell them apart. With her Instagram page, Becki has joined the likes of these families who are sharing experiences about parenting identical triplets.
Birthdays Are Chaotic
Having 4 kids in a house can make any gathering or special occasion chaotic but when 3 of them are the exact same age, the chaos is triple! Becki-Jo experiences this with the birthdays of her triplets. The three have to share the balloons, presents and the celebrations on their big day. It is overwhelming but thankfully, Indiana steps in to help her mom with the decorations and the presents. So even though Roman, Rocco and Rohan have to share a cake, the birthdays are rewarding!
Enjoying A Fulfilling Life
Even though the triplets get a lot of attention over social media, they live a normal life. From receiving report cards to quarreling with siblings, they are living every part of childhood. As for Becki-Jo, she is happy to experience all their “firsts”! Becki-Jo has talked about her fears about the triplets on Instagram. Thankfully, the triplet’s health scares have ended and what Becki is experiencing are normal parenting fears like letting them cross the road alone or jumping too high. She is learning that these are in fact, the joys of parenting boys!
Still Getting Attention
It’s been a few years since Becki-Jo gave birth to the triplets but the attention hasn’t died down. The boys still get looks from strangers while walking down the street. When Becki tells them that the triplets are identical, their jaws drop in amazement. People are following their journey through social media and who knows, the triplets grow up to be influencers and social media stars! Only time will tell how life pans out for these miracle boys. But it’s time to dive into another touching story of motherhood.
The Road To Pregnancy Is Tough
Nicole and Kevin Barrattini married in 2010 and a couple of years later decided to extend their family. Their two dogs were adorable by the couple longed to have a baby. Even after trying for years they couldn’t get pregnant but they didn’t lose hope. The road to starting a family was turning out to be much rougher than they anticipated. But in their hearts they knew that this is what they really want.
Fighting A Battle Since Childhood
The couple decided to get tested for possible fertility issues after trying for years to get pregnant with no result. The tests revealed something that Nicole and Kevin were not expecting. The reason that Nicole was unable to conceive was a disease that she battled when she was 16. As a teen, she was diagnosed with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) which had a morality rate of 95% back in the day. Nicole survived it but had to take a medicine for the rest of her life.
Weighing The Possibilities
The disease was coming back to haunt Nicole. The doctors advised her against a pregnancy since the medicine prescribed to treat TTP could harm the baby. It could even harm Nicole to the point that she could lose her life in her attempt to give birth. Nicole was adamant to have a baby and was ready to take the risk. This decision was not well received by the family, especially her husband. Kevin understood that Nicole’s choice stemmed from desperation and frustration but he was not ready to take such a huge risk.
Adoption Is An Alternative
Risking Nicole’s life to have a baby was off the table so the couple started looking at other alternatives. They just wanted to have children, whether they were biologically theirs or not wasn’t important. So adoption seemed a good option but they quickly realized how expensive it was. Research shows that between 2015 and 2016, domestic adoptions for newborns cost about $37,000 while it was $42,000 for international. Spending so much on adoption and then putting aside money for raising the kids mounted up to a huge sum that the couple could not afford.
Thinking About Surrogacy
Since adoption was turning out to be so expensive, the couple turned towards the next option- surrogacy. But soon they found out the price tag of this option was somewhere around $75,000. It was a big blow to realize that surrogacy was also not a possible option. The prime reason for the process to cost so much is that paying a surrogate is illegal in New York. A couple needs to hire an out-of-state surrogate which multiply the expenses rapidly. Even so, Nicole and Kevin were not ready to lose hope.
A Ray Of Hope
Surrogacy was out of the list of options due to its cost. The only way it could work was if someone would do it for free. But Nicole had no relatives that would be willing to carry a baby for her. A lot of their friends were ready to help them but not everyone is suitable to be a surrogate. Each candidate has to go through rigorous medical tests to ensure that they can safely carry a baby. The couple was back to square one since none of their friends were eligible to be surrogates.
Good News Over Dinner
Things changed for Nicole and Kevin the day they were invited to dinner with Shawn and Lianna Fives, whom they had known for over 20 years. Over dinner Lianna mentioned in front of everyone that she wants more children which left her husband in shock since they already had 5 kids. That is when Lianna clarified, “no, not for me, for you guys- I’d like to carry a child.” She explained that ever since she found out Nicole couldn’t carry, she had planned on helping them out but waited till her family was complete.
Trials, Failures And Surprises
The process began, Lianna was implanted with Nicole’s egg but sadly, the first try didn’t make it. Both the couples were determined to make it work no matter how many times they had to try. Finally, their efforts bore fruit and Lianna fell pregnant but that wasn’t the only surprise for Nicole and Kevin. Both the couples went for Lianna’s first sonogram where they found out that she wasn’t pregnant with just one baby but two! Nicole couldn’t believe her ears, she was having two healthy babies. All her years of wait were not in vain.
Together Is Better
Right from the beginning, both the couples were involved in every step of the way. As per Kevin, all of them attended at least 95% of the doctor’s appointments together. This was going to be a special pregnancy and they knew it. All 4 of them wanted to be a part of this awesome journey like they were experiencing it themselves. But even though their bond was thick and Lianna had proposed this arrangement herself, one question lingered.
What Lianna Feels
Many people had their doubts about the surrogacy and Lianna encountered the same question time and again- when the time comes, will she be able to part with the twins? Nicole had the same concern before going through with the process, “After 9 months to hand off the babies — even if they are not biologically yours — is too difficult for some people.” But for Lianna, it was never going to be a problem.
Delivering Happiness
Months flew by and it was finally time to give birth to the babies. Lianna delivered Nicole’s twins on February 10th, 2017. Both the babies were in good health and the two couples took a sigh of relief. They had passed the test of time. Lianna had no trouble in letting the twins go. She was so close to Kevin and Nicole that she could go and see the twins any time she wanted. Her bond with the babies would never be forgotten, nor would her gesture be.
A Selfless Act
Dr. Richard Klein, Lianna’s obstetrician had known her since her first pregnancy and the twins being her sixth, he definitely knew her well by now. He remembered the entire journey and pointed out that they had a lot of fun during the pregnancy and the delivery of the twins. But above all the fun, he believes what Lianna did was “the most you could ever do for a friend.” With so many difficulties surrounding pregnancy, it was a selfless act of love for Lianna to do such a thing for Nicole.
Bonding With The Babies
The new parents were over the moon with the arrival of their babies whom they named Dominic and Luciana. The couple appointed Lianna and Shawn as Godparents to the twins. An interesting thing about the two moms is that they share the same birthday, March 1st. The women believe that this pregnancy has brought the even closer to each other. After the delivery, Nicole and Kevin braced themselves for this new journey of parenthood. They were finally going to live the dream they had ever since they got married. But their story does not end here.
Paying It Forward
Nicole and Kevin’s journey to becoming parents encouraged them to help other couples who are unable to have children of their own. Their experience taught them that alternative options to childbirth work out only for those who have a lot of money. The couple is doing their bit in changing the situation. Nicole has been working with reproductive specialists and local legislatures, advocating for legal surrogacy in the state. The fact that couples have to hire out-of-state surrogates increases the cost significantly. Her efforts however, don’t end here.
Pleading For Support
In her attempt to raise awareness for surrogacy and turning it legal in New York, Nicole is also pleading other women to do what Lianna did for her. Nicole and Kevin are grateful to Lianna and Shawn to help them become parents. Their dream would not have come true if not for Lianna’s sacrifice and charity. Nicole hopes that more women will come forward and support this campaign, “After hearing our story, I hope that there are people out there that will help other couples because they changed our lives.”
