A SET of identical triplets due to be born on Christmas Day arrived early at the Royal United Hospital in Bath - giving their parents three early and very special Christmas presents.
Hunter, Bodhi and Travis were all born within minutes of each other in November and were cared for at the RUH’s Dyson Centre for Neonatal Care, before returning home with parents Stacey and Grant Silk just in time for the festive season.
The boys were born at 33 weeks, with Hunter and Travis both weighing 4lb 6oz and Bodhi 4lb 5oz. They will be brothers to the couple’s two other children Juke, 7, and Blake, 3.
Stacey, the mother of the triplets, said: “It’s magical. We’re so lucky that they’ve all been born healthy and have made such good progress so quickly. It feels as though someone’s been looking over us.
“Although the pregnancy was difficult at times, especially physically, I was very lucky not to have any of the medical complications that can come with triplets.
“We’re just overjoyed, so happy.”
When the couple attended Stacey’s first scan, they were told they would be having twins.
She added: “We were left speechless when we were told it would be twins, but we came to terms with it quite quickly and let all our friends and family know. Grant joked at the time ‘imagine if there’s another one.’ Little did we know.”
It was at their next scan they found that it was indeed going to be triplets.
“When we were told, we just looked at each other and burst into laughter. We couldn’t believe it,” Stacey said.
“When we got back to the car we just sat there in silence for a few minutes, trying to make sense of it all. It was quite overwhelming at the time.
“Grant had just bought a new car and said he was glad he’d chosen the nine-seater.”
Now back home in Oakhill, between Shepton Mallet and Stratton-on-the-Fosse, Stacey said the couple were looking forward to a big family Christmas.
She added: “We’re taking it one day at a time and embracing the chaos – we’re quite a chaotic family anyway, so it suits us.
“We can’t wait for Christmas with all the boys. We’ve told all our family to make sure they all cook over the Christmas holidays and we’ll spend the season visiting them all and eating all their food.”
Follow the triplets’ progress on their own Instagram account - @thesilktriplets.