Astonished parents Lauren and Jack Mountain, River, Beau, and Leo are some of the most preterm triplets to have ever been born in Britain. They arrived six minutes apart in a bumper arrival. Ten weeks early, River, Beau, and Leo checked into Worcestershire Royal Hospital. The delighted parents Lauren and Jack Mountain welcomed their newborn three into the world within only six minutes of one another.
Jack, 29, a plumber and heating engineer, said: “I was really shocked to find out we were having triplets and it took a while to sink in. I was nervous about how we’d deal with having three at home at once. As an only child I had hoped to have a small family. It is a real handful but we are managing with help from our family. I was so excited once we knew the pregnancy was going well and I’m delighted to be their dad.”
The pair were shocked to learn at their 12 week scan they not not only were expecting their first child – but their first three. Now the couple say they are learning to tell their identical boys apart – by their head shape.
Lauren, 28, and Jack, 29, from Bewdley, Worcestershire, were overjoyed when their incredibly rare triplets arrived safely into the world after being delivered by emergency C-Section. River and Beau weighed 3lbs 1oz while Leo weighed in at 3lbs after being born at 6.59am, 7.04am and 7.06am respectively.
Lauren, a sustainability adviser, said: “When we found out we were having triplets it was a complete shock, we couldn’t believe it. It was pretty hard to process and get our heads around it as there are no twins or multiples in the family. We FaceTimed family and friends to break the news and see the reaction on their faces. A lot of people couldn’t believe it and thought we were having them on. We had to show them the scan pictures to prove there really were three of them. They were sharing a placenta so we were told it would be a ʜɪɢʜ-ʀɪsᴋ pregnancy. We were a bit scared and a bit nervous. We were worried about how we would manage having three at the same time because Jack is an only child and we had always envisaged having a small family ourselves. It took a few weeks to process then we became really excited.”
Beau and Leo have now returned home with their mum and dad while River remains in hospital as he still requires breathing assistance.
Lauren added: “It’s been a very tiring few weeks, months actually – but we are doing good now. It’s madness with Beau and Leo at home and we are going back and forth to the hospital to see River every day. Thankfully we have got a lot of support because it is chaotic already. Their grandparents look after the boys to give us some relief when we want a shower and go to see River in hospital. It is bittersweet being able to take the two home and leaving River in the hospital when he is otherwise so strong and healthy. We are just waiting for him to grow a little bit more and build up his strength so he can come home.
Speaking about how they recognize which triplet is which. There are differences in their head shape we use to distinguish them but they might grow out of those.
