The adorable trio of ɪᴅᴇɴᴛɪᴄᴀʟ sisters who were born at Oᴅᴅs 1 in 200 million. Happy and healthy Charlotte, Cora and Emma, now aged 10 weeks, are finally home from the hospital and living with their devoted, slightly shell-sʜᴏᴄᴋed parents, Lauren and Andrew Getting. Lauren, 34, said: “They are true Mɪʀᴀᴄʟᴇs,” The babies, ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇɪᴠᴇd naturally and consequently known as “spontaneous,” resulted from Lauren’s one fertilized egg splitting into three, causing the embryos to share the same placenta
Lauren’s triple pregnancy was considered high ʀɪsᴋ, so she secured the care of specialist Dr. Victor Klein. Klein said reports in medical literature of the chances of ɪᴅᴇɴᴛɪᴄᴀʟ triplets range from 1 in a million to 1 in 200 million. “We can’t pin it down exactly because the statistics are uncertain,” he said. “But it is incredibly exciting when it happens.” Lauren suffered from extreme morning sɪᴄᴋness. She said: “The hormones were triple – as well as heartburn, acid reflux and high ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ pressure. At the end of my first trimester, I was already as big as most women are in their third. It was the hardest physical thing I have ever done in my life.”
Mercifully, her discomfort ended on Sept. 4, when Klein performed a C-section near the milestone of 32 weeks. Charlotte was ᴅᴇʟɪᴠᴇʀᴇᴅ first, weighing 3 pounds, 15 ounces, then Emma arrived, at 4 pounds, 7 ounces, followed by 4-pound, 4-ounce Cora. The newborns, needing assistance to breathe, were whisked to the NICU. They stayed in the hospital for more than seven weeks, until their discharge on consecutive days toward the end of October. Since then, the Gettings’ domestic life has been hectic. “My mom always said: ‘God only gives you what you can handle,’” said Lauren, before quipping, “And my answer is: ’I just wish he wouldn’t trust me so much!’”
The new parents took turns feeding and changing the Gɪʀʟs in 12-hour shifts, and have quickly picked up on their individual personalities. “Charlotte is the spunky one, Cora is more laid-back, while Emma is very resilient,” said Andrew, who has three kids — including twins — from a previous relationship.
To tell the look-alikes apart, each one has a different color of child-safe nail polish on her toes. “Cora is peach, Charlotte is green and Emma is purple,” explained Lauren. The couple has been struggling to keep up with the steep costs of caring for three newborns — including special formula for Pʀᴇᴍᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ-birth infants and all that baby equipment. For example, they will need an estimated 10,000 diapers in one year. “We only have one income at the moment, so it’s tough,” said Lauren, whose maternity leave ended Monday. “But we’ve been helped and humbled by the generosity of our friends and family.”
The couple’s pal Patty Ortez launched a GoFundMe campaign that’s so far raised nearly $12,000 of the $25,000 goal. “It’s really heartening, especially during the pandemic,” said Andrew. “I think people love to hear about three little Mɪʀᴀᴄʟᴇs born at a time like this.”