After being told on five CT scans that she was expecting a girl, the mother’s shock at having three boys came as a surprise to her for the first time. The mother spent £500 on clothes for what she believed to be her children since she was so sure she would have two girls, only to discover later that there had been a very substantial gender mix-up. When she was informed five different times at various scans, dental therapist Gina Dewdney, 34, was overjoyed.
Two of the triplets she is carrying will be girls. She and her husband, Craig, 34, listened to their sonographer and braced for the arrival of their baby, shopping for pink clothes and accessories for their daughter. However, they were shocked to discover during Gina’s 24-week ᴜʟᴛʀᴀsᴏᴜɴᴅ that the babies she was supposed to be having were actually girls – and she was expecting an identical set of triplets. Gina revealed: ‘I had the feeling I was pregnant with twins from the beginning because I felt so horrible.
I suffer from ᴍɪɢʀᴀɪɴᴇs and have blind spots in my vision along with insomnia during my pregnancy. “When we saw two heads on the 13-week scan, I wasn’t surprised but I was completely shocked to have a third ʜᴇᴀᴅ.” She explains: “I had weekly scans because triplets are a high-ʀɪsᴋ pregnancy. At 16 weeks, we were told that they were twins, a girl and a boy. I’m thrilled to have the best of both worlds. Gina revealed that she and Craig managed to get a bag full of girls’ clothes, including girly bibs and dummies.
The couple has even started looking at the girls’ names for new additions to them. Building relationships with her “daughters”, Gina admits she felt “ᴅᴇᴠᴀsᴛᴀᴛᴇᴅ” when it was later discovered 24 weeks later that the girls were indeed boys. Fearing another mix, she even decided to keep the amount of girls’ clothes she bought just in case another wrong call was made and she ended up with her daughter. The three boys were right as Gina went on to offer a one in 200 million chance of being identical boys.
They are named Jimmy, Jenson and Jaxson – named in April at just over 31 weeks pregnant. The trio delivered in a minute and 52 seconds, with Jaxon weighing 2 lbs, Jenson weighing 2 lbs 7oz and Jimmy the heaviest of the three, weighing 3 lbs. “The babies were born at the same time, which is very unusual for triplets,” Gina said. Looking back on her pregnancy, she says she can “completely understand” how the sonographer mistook the fetuses for weeks for weeks. “Babies will never sit still,” she said.
“There will always be a leg or an arm in the way, so it’s not easy for them to see each baby from all angles.” Both she and her husband Craig are sure that the kids are girls too, so never questioned when it comes to gender. Gina said: “Even Craig, a dentist, and I think they are like girls, that’s why I decided to keep all my clothes – just in case.” The couple’s triplets spent 42 days in the NICU (infant intensive care unit) before they were given the green light to go home to their parents.
Gina and Craig, who upgraded their home from an apartment to a five-bed house and bought a bigger car to make room for their parents, admit that they now “can’t believe it” statue” their son is a girl. “We’re incredibly grateful to the staff who looked after our babies at the hospital because they wouldn’t be here today without them,” Gina said. “They’re 26 weeks old now and I can’t imagine having girls now – having identical boys is so special.” While the boys look similar, Gina revealed that her three boys have different personalities.
“Jimmy is the joker, Jenson is dramatic and Jaxson is completely chilling and just sitting there looking at the other two,” she said. “Craig and I can’t imagine life without them now.” The mother-of-three teased her home had become “chaotic”, as she revealed the couple were given 30 diapers a day, around 24 bottles of milk and a “bath of formula every 48 hours”. Gina teased: “They tag the team being awake so I hardly sleep but I wouldn’t sleep any other way.”
As for the bags of girls’ clothes she bought in advance, Gina said they’re still tucked away in the closet and she’ll keep them in case she and Craig welcome a daughter in the future. She said: “Some people might think I’m crazy considering other triplets.” But I wouldn’t rule out trying for a girl in the future! ”
