Meet Miracle Triplets Born Two Years Apart

Ethan, Isabel and Arthur Preston were all conceived at the same time but Ethan was born more than two years before his siblings. Isabel and Arthur were born in December – two years and five days after Ethan.

Parents Katie and Matthew are looking forward to celebrating their first Mother’s Day with the trio on Sunday.

All three siblings were conceived while the couple, from Castle Vale, underwent IVF treatment at Midland Fertility.

“They are our three little miracles,” said Katie, a cashier at William Hill.

Katie and Matthew, both 28, tried for a family for five years before discovering they only had a one per cent chance of conceiving as Matthew has a low sperm count.

“I would see a woman with a pram in the street and would go home and cry. Many of my family and friends were having families, and we just thought it would never happen for us. I used to blame myself, and Matthew would blame himself – we were at rock bottom,” admits Katie.

The pair were referred to Midland Fertility for treatment with NHS funding in 2011.

They underwent the ICSI procedure, also known as intracytoplasmic sperm injection, where a single sperm is injected directly into an egg to help fertilisation.

“We gave everything to it – it was our whole focus,” said Katie. “As a couple it can make or break you, and it can be very stressful at times. But the support I got from Matthew was amazing.”

Six embryos were created in the IVF process, and one was transferred into Katie’s uterus. The couple then faced an agonising two week wait before they could carry out a pregnancy test.

Katie said: “I did a test secretly, and slightly early, which was negative so I really didn’t think the treatment had worked. On the actual test date I was shaking. When two lines appeared I sat daydreaming about what our future held. Matthew was asleep at the time, but I woke him and told him we were pregnant. We phoned the clinic as we wanted them to be the first to know. They made our dreams come true.”

After a complicated pregnancy, Ethan arrived just before Christmas in 2012. But it wasn’t until Ethan was a few weeks old that Katie felt like a mum.

“People talk about that ‘magical moment’ holding your baby for the first time. I thought I was odd because I didn’t feel it. I just didn’t believe he was mine. It wasn’t until a few weeks later the emotion hit me, and I felt that magic.”

Katie and Matthew then had to decide what to do with their remaining frozen embryos.

“We just couldn’t discard them after the effort and dedication that went into creating them, so we decided to use them,” said Matthew.

All embryos survived the thaw and the two very best were once more transferred to Katie.

“To our surprise at our first pregnancy scan, we saw not one, but two little heartbeats. We think of our three children both as twins and a big brother, and as triplets. At the moment Ethan is going through the terrible twos, and the babies are only three months old. But I know when they are older they will all have a special bond as triplets. Ethan loves helping me look after them, and kissing them good night,” Kate said.

“While Isabel is a typical woman, and is in charge of the boys. Arthur is really chilled out and loves watching Ethan around the house. We feel truly blessed.”

Dr Gillian Lockwood, medical director of Midland Fertility added: “Katie and Matthew had one funded treatment cycle, two pregnancies and three babies.”

Source: Mirror