At eight weeks pregnant, Bianca discovered she was carrying triplets after undergoing reproductive therapy for her second child. “I was astonished,” she reveals. “My hands covered my lips in disbelief. My worst fear was that the doctor might suggest reduction.”
Initially believing she was expecting twins, Bianca’s hormone levels revealed a different reality. “I was terribly unwell for six weeks and had to rush to the doctor’s office. I had to take some medicine. It was completely overwhelming and incapacitating.” Sharing the news with her husband, Pete, led to his stunned response. “‘Oh my gosh,’ he exclaimed. Then, ‘I’d best get back to work.’ He couldn’t say anything for 48 hours. ‘I’m simply digesting stuff,’ he said.” By the tenth week, the possibility of terminating the pregnancy was discussed.
“They present you with this astonishing and frightening bar graph showing all the hazards, such as three times the rate of physical and mental disability, and here are all the infants that die – 140 out of every 1000.” Bianca challenged the doctor’s suggestion, asking, “So, you want me to terminate one right now because it might be one of the 140, but what if it’s one of the 860?” The doctor anticipated bodily suffering due to the pregnancy, stating, “I was told I’d require a full-time caregiver starting at 28 weeks, that I’d be housebound, and that I’d feel like I’d burst.” Fortunately, none of those predictions came to pass.
“I knew I’d make as many concessions and sacrifices as possible for my children. This would be the most significant physical achievement I could make.” At 30 weeks, Bianca was carrying a 12-pound baby and had grown so large that she struggled to breathe or move by 33 weeks. Gasping for air, she was placed on a ventilator. Doctors decided it was time for induction. A unique opportunity unfolded as three medical teams and numerous observers gathered to witness the rare vaginal birth of triplets.
Bianca’s waters broke, and an epidural was administered to help with discomfort. “I had a pretty pleasurable labor,” she recounts, even sending her husband and photographer friend to the bar for a bit. After eight hours of labor, she began pushing her first baby out. In a span of 20 minutes, the first baby arrived, followed by a 25-minute wait for the next two. Each baby was cocooned in its own amniotic sac with its own placenta. Bianca chose not to know their genders, adding to the excitement in the room.
The third child, Hendrix, presented a breech extraction. Four months later, Bianca continues to nurse two infants while bottle-feeding the third. Juggling their schedules can be demanding, especially at night. Bianca is open about her experiences as a mother of four children under three years old on Instagram and Facebook, where her story inspires and resonates with those going through tough days.
