Three times the fun

As their boys celebrate their sixth birthday DEBBIE WAITE hears about the stresses and joys of triple parenthood

BECOMING a parent can be a daunting experience, but Lucy Curry and her husband Mike had treble the shock when they learned they were expecting triplets.

In the last six years the couple, from Audley Road in Chippenham, have probably experienced three times the stress, three times the nappies and three times the expense of normal parenthood.

But they wouldn't swap their six year-old triplets, Daniel, William and James, for the world.

"I'll never forget the day we found out we were having three babies," said Mrs Curry, 31.

"My husband and I went along to the hospital for an early scan, because I was so big, so early on in my pregnancy.

"I had a feeling I was having twins and the scan quickly showed two babies but then the nurse moved the scanner a little more across my stomach and said, 'Hang on, there's another head.'

"Mike went awfully quiet and I just went a little hysterical.

"I remember we were both so shocked by it all.

"When I got home I just cried for hours, thinking about what it was going to mean, it was frightening."

The Curry's doctors told them that, while the pregnancy was progressing well, there was an increased risk to the babies' health because it was a multiple birth.

"Because of that we didn't really buy that much stuff while I was pregnant," said Mrs Curry.

"I was doing fine, but we didn't want to tempt fate.

"We bought three cots and very late on, some clothes.

"We also borrowed a third car seat and just kind of waited really. We were nervous but excited at the same time."

Mrs Curry went into hospital for the last seven weeks of her pregnancy so she could be monitored and the boys arrived by caesarean section on March 19, 1998.

"James was delivered first and when the midwife put him on my chest I just couldn't believe how big he was and that there were two other babies to come," said Mrs Curry.

"All the boys were good weights and all they needed was a short time in incubators and a little oxygen.

"The first night Mike and I spent with them in the hospital family room was a real shock though.

"We didn't get a wink of sleep and that was how things went on really.

"Once we got home, we sorted out a rota, where one of us would sleep one night with earplugs while the other looked after the babies.

"That way we got a little sleep, but to be honest we were pretty tired most of the time."

As well as three times the feeds, there were three times the nappy changes.

"I suppose were went through at least a packet of nappies each day," said Mrs Curry.

"And there were all the bottles and all the washing involved too it was non-stop."

The couple kept the baby's hospital tags on them for a while when they got home, so they wouldn't mix up their little bundles of joy.

"They are pretty close to identical now, but when they were little, it was extremely difficult to tell them apart, so the tags really helped I don't think we ever mixed them up," she said.

"My mum helped out as much as possible and we were also visited a couple of times a week by people from the National Childbirth Trust, who would also help out.

"We bought a triple buggy so that if I was on my own, I could push them all, but the third part comes off into a single buggy, so my husband can push one of them when we're together.

"Right from the start I've had lots of amazed looks when I take them out," added Mrs Curry.

"Most people think they're great but some people say they feel sorry for me but I've never felt that way.

"The only difficulty was trying to get a triple buggy through shop doors!"

The boys started to crawl on their first Christmas, when they spotted their presents underneath the tree.

"It was hectic when they all started getting around," said Mrs Curry.

"We had reins for them when they started walking, but that was almost impossible, as they'd trip each other up and walk into each other all the time.

"Right from the start we dressed them differently and they quickly developed their own personalities too.

"James is very cheeky, a bit of a comedian, while William is very imaginative and likes taking things apart and putting them back together.

"Daniel likes to please and is quite sensitive. Of course they can be mischievous at times.

"They're good friends though and although they fight a bit, they get on very well most of the time."

The boys are all pupils at Ivy Lane School in Chippenham.

"They're not very studious. They're pretty boisterous little boys really," said Mrs Curry.

"Daniel wants to be a racing car driver, William wants to be a scientist and James wants to be a train driver.

"Who knows what they'll be but we're very proud of them."