During the second pregnancy, Jackie Ochenkowski and her husband were extremely surprised and worried when they learned that they were expecting three girls at the same time. Happiness is multiplied, but worries are not small because the case of triplets always carries many ʀɪsᴋs for both mother and baby.
On May 18, 2016, at 32 weeks, Jackie gave birth to her triplet daughters, Aubrey, Bailey, and Charlotte, via C-sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ. Each baby weighed three pounds and went on to spend two to three months in the N.I.C.U.
Recalling the difficult journey of pregnancy, the mother said at that time, Tom had just started his new business, and they were busy building their new home. Jackie went to the doctor for her eight-week sonogram by herself while Tom worked nonstop so they could be in their new home before the baby’s arrival. During the appointment, Jackie sensed something was unusual by the look on the ultrasound technician’s face. She was sʜᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ when the doctor told her she was having spontaneous identical triplets, an incredibly rare phenomenon.
At 25 weeks, due to the ʀɪsᴋ of 2 ᴀᴍɴɪᴏᴛɪᴄ sᴀᴄs but only 1 ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇɴᴛᴀ, Jackie had to be hospitalized for observation under the care of a specialist. To record that difficult but happy time, Jackie has taken a set of sweet and heartwarming photos that make everyone wish and admire her happiness as a mother.
Photographer JoAnn Marrero, who did the family photo shoot for Jackie, said, “The hardest thing at that time was that Jackie had to leave her 2-year-old daughter Brooke at home. She missed her mother very much, but when visiting her mother, baby Brook was very scared because her mother was full of wires. In the end, she still understood and got used to it.”
The couple also expressed their happiness and gratitude to everyone who helped in the process of taking care of the babies. Many people have told the mother of four that she will have a hard time and can’t go anywhere because she has to take care of the babies, but Jackie has proven the opposite. She can still go out and always take the kids with her, even go anywhere.
Jackie is especially proud of her husband because, outside of work, he is always devoted to her taking care of the children. They even competed for the childcare part so that the mother and child could have some alone time. Now that the children are stronger, both can breathe a sigh of relief, even though they still know that there are still many challenges and difficulties waiting ahead.
This is a rare case of natural triplets without medical intervention in the world. Hopefully, the photo series will inspire and help parents who are raising young children, especially triplets, to feel more motivated and continue to work hard on the journey of taking care of babies, although it’s hard. This is also very sweet.
