They had one son and wanted another brother or sister for him. But now Mandy (30) and Arie (28) Pronk from Halsteren suddenly have four children. The couple was expecting triplets. And on Wednesday, the family can finally go home together after weeks in the hospital. “Fortunately, our house is big enough,” Mandy laughs. “But we had to buy a lot more stuff.”
Mandy and Arie had been able to get used to the idea for a while. Because they discovered the surprising news at the first ultrasound after seven weeks. “I had a suspicion that there were two,” says Mandy. “But then the midwife said, I think even three. We shouted at the same time: three?!”
“After the birth of our first child, we actually thought it was a good thing.”
That was a bit of a switch for the couple, who have been together since their teens. “When we were young, we thought it would be fun to have four children. But when we had our first child, it was absolutely fantastic. And it was good that way,” she says. “In the end it started to tickle and we decided to go for a brother or sister for Ezra. And now we suddenly have four!”
The couple was completely overwhelmed, but immediately enthusiastic. “We knew that this would also suit us. Even our friends said: if this had to happen to anyone, it’s to you. So it will be fine,” says Mandy confidently.
And also son Ezra has already completely embraced brothers Manoah and Tobias and sister Lydia. “At first he found it difficult to understand. But as soon as the nursery was ready and there were three beds, it started to dawn on him too. And now that they are born, he is like: all the babies are mine.”
“We had to buy a bigger car.”
The pregnancy did not go without a hitch. Already after 27 weeks, Mandy was dilated and had to go to the hospital. With contraction inhibitors and a lot of rest, it was possible to postpone the birth for another three weeks. But after thirty weeks, more than two months early, labor still started.
The triplets were born by caesarean section. They then spent weeks in intensive care in Rotterdam and Dordrecht. And then in the hospital in Bergen op Zoom. The babies did not yet have the strength to drink for themselves, so they received breast milk through a nasogastric tube. It is now going well and they are strong enough to drink themselves.
They can go home on Wednesday. Mandy and Arie have already made all the preparations for this. “We immediately got to work. Three maxi cosi’s, three rockers and three cots. Everything in triplicate,” says Mandy. “Fortunately, it all fits in the house. We just had to buy a bigger car,” laughs Mandy.