Megan Haggerty, 30, mother-of-four who gave birth to triplets last year has found out she is now pregnant with twins. She has never used fertility drugs and said: “I didn’t really expect to be getting that kind of news again. But I was also like, I’ve got triplets, twins will be a breeze.”
The family are Haggerty’s three children from a previous marriage, girls ages 6, 8, and 10 – and a 2-year-old girl she had with her now-fiancé, Clyde Bodge. Bodge is currently on stay-at-home-dad duty with the four youngest since being laid off as a heating-and-air-conditioning technician in February, and he’ll add twins to his load come July. He said:” Honestly, I’m excited. I love kids.” Haggerty’s triplets are fraternal, and the possibility of conceiving them naturally was about 1 in 8,000, for identical triplets those chances increase to about 1 in a million. And once a woman gives birth to multiples, her odds of doing so again become higher. Her grandmother had twins, and her mother’s cousin had triplets.
Meanwhile Mr Bodge’s great-grandmother had quadruplets, and several sets of twins have also been born on his side. Though the family has taken everything in stride, there have been tough times. Haggerty said: “The triplets were really difficult at first because you only have two hands and two legs, and they all seemed to want to be fed at the same time. The older kids have not yet been told about their latest siblings-to-be, but I hope they’ll rise to the occasion. They were very excited about the triplets, especially since they were all boys, but it wore off quickly with our asking them to help all the time”.
The couple has no family nearby for support or to help with childcare duties, and they don’t expect to have any assistance once the twins arrive. What’s more, Haggerty has been forced to miss a lot of time with her little ones, as she spends about 90 minutes commuting each way between their home in Martinsburg and her job as an intake specialist at a psychologist’s office. She said:” Sometimes the babies are asleep when I get home, and they’re asleep when I leave, so I can go a week without seeing them. But our biggest concern now is finances. It’s going to be a test. We’re going to have to keep our heads on straight to make ends meet. I’m willing to work at night.”
Bodge says he’s plagued by insomnia anyway, the lingering effect of a work accident that caused a ᴄᴏɴᴄᴜssɪᴏɴ. He said:” But if I get two hours a night, I’m good with that. I like keeping the tots busy all day long by listening to music, dancing, building with blocks, playing in an indoor pop-up tent, and, when it’s nice out, having a friend help us get to a nearby park in two double strollers. Honestly at first it was very stressful, but my day is so fluid now, I’ve got them on a great schedule. The triplets even nap at the same time. And as far as the coming twins? I know it seems scary to most people. But I’m really looking forward to it”.
