1. Day one

The triplets were whisked off from the theatre to be checked over, and moved into the neonatal intensive care unit. I remember trying to take it all in. I was kicked with intense emotion and adrenaline, added to that was the joy that they had arrived in one piece. Stacey seemed a bit calmer after the arrival. The meds were kicking in, she was also exhausted from the stress.

We were moved to a recovery ward, and Stacey was given an opportunity to relax, recuperate and let the feeling return to her lower body.

As soon as I had the chance I headed across to the nicu to see how our new arrivals were doing. Stacey chose to stay on the recovery ward. I thought it a bit odd she didn’t want to come, even with the offer of a wheelchair and a nurse to Assist her.

The nicu is an intense experience for any parent. The second time I saw the triplets They were in incubators. Lacey was already off oxygen and holding her own, Ava and Blakely were still having a little help with their breathing. Even though Stacey had received a couple of steroid jabs to strengthen their lungs a few weeks before, they were still pretty early into the outside world. So some vital assistance was required.

Ava weighed in at 4lb 12oz

lacey at 4lb 5oz

Blakely at 3lb 4oz,

As you can see here she was tiny. But still, all good weights for triplets.

The day was spent back and fourth from seeing the triplets,  to caring for Stacey, her Mum and I took it in turns to go back and forth throughout the day. Stacey continued with reasons why she was unable to see them. It was beginning to concern me.

Frankie, my Mum and other family members visited in the afternoon into the evening. Frankie was buzzing with excitement when she arrived. It was a huge day for her, times three.

The day was a blur, everyone was exhausted by the evening. The one thing I was struggling with by the time it came to leave for home for that night, was that Stacey had not yet seen her babies, other than a fleeting glance in the theatre. She had told me prior to that day that as soon as they were born, she would feel completely different about them. Yet she seemed agitated whenever I mentioned taking her to see them.

I felt fear again that night for us as a family, it seemed we were heading into more uncertainty and problems. Stacey was still clearly unhappy. And the girls had now arrived, there was no turning back.

I was to head back into the hospital first thing the following morning, as I was unable to stay with her . Leaving my wife that night was tough going.  Maybe in my own excitement from the start of the pregnancy,  I had blinkered myself from the extent of how much Stacey had struggled with the whole situation.