Just when Amber Ertley and Levi Nelson thought they were done having children, Ertley found out she was pregnant once again.
The Oneonta, Alabama couple looked forward to growing their family by one more person, until they found out something shocking at the mother’s ultrasound. During a routine checkup, the technician burst out in a smile and said she heard three heartbeats.
Ertley replied, “What does that mean? What does three heartbeats me?” And the technician said, “You’re having triplets.”
The Nelson triplets would be three girls who shared the same amniotic sac and placenta, meaning they would be identical. Identical triplets form when a single fertilized egg splits two times, and the odds of having them are extremely rare and occur in about one in 200 million births! According to al.com, neither genetics nor fertility treatments can increase the chances of having identical triplets or twins: it’s pure luck.
Ertley, 24, had a healthy pregnancy up until the end when she started showing signs of preeclampsia. On February 15, Ertley went into the hospital, and five days later she went into labor and doctors prepped her for a C-section. The first two babies came out fine, but after the third baby came out crying.
Nelson looked over at his wife and saw her struggling: it looked like she was having a seizure. Immediately, Nelson heard ‘Code Blue’ and saw people running into Ertley’s room. He started to imagine the worst, saying:
“It was the scariest moment of my life. I was afraid I was going to be behopping home with three babies and no momma.”
Ertley wound up losing a lot of blood, and six hours after her heart stopped, Nelson was able to visit his wife, where she was sedated and hooked up to a breathing tube.
Ertley fought to recover, but her babies thrived, and Norah, Rylan and Remi weighed more than four pounds at birth and didn’t need any oxygen or IV fluids.
Luckily, since March 7, Ertley has been home, and she has three to four doctors’ appointment in Birmingham every week.
The family counts their blessings every night saying,
“We are forever grateful to be a happy family together. We say every night, ‘We don’t have much, but man are we blessed with kids and the outpouring of love and support from friends and even strangers.'”
The couple has set up a GoFundMe page where people can donate money for medical expenses and baby supplies.
Please watch the video of this beautiful and rare family below and SHARE it with your friends and family on Facebook!
[Featured Image: Joe Songer/al.com]
Couple Gives Birth To Extremely Rare Identical Triplets is an article from: LifeDaily