A Michigan couple hopes to bring home their newborn identical triplets in time for Christmas.
Ivan, William and Harrison VanderMolen were born minutes apart three weeks ago, WZZM reported. The boys are doing well, but their parents, John and Julie VanderMolen, are still numb from the experience.
"You kind of set in panic mode a little bit, a little fear takes over — OK, a lot of fear," John VanderMolen told WZZM. "So I will take one and Julie will take one, I don't know who will take a third, maybe we need to get a dog.”
“The ultrasound tech did bring John a trash can just in case (during the births),” Julie VanderMolen said. “He did not look good.”
The couple had suffered through a miscarriage, and Julie’s father, Lloyd Osterink, died unexpectedly on April 1 at age 64.
"I got pregnant right after losing my father, so that was a very emotional time for me and I thought about how I wish he could have met my sons,” Julie VanderMolen told WZZM. “But to have three beautiful healthy gifts, it was a blessing we didn't know to pray for.”
The biggest challenge for the new parents is telling the infants apart.
"They are three very different sizes right now. So we can tell them apart really easily right now,” Julie VanderMolen said.
“Ask us that question in six months it’s going to be a little difficult,” John VanderMolen said. “We’re just going to have to come up with some stickers, friendship bracelet, brother bracelets, we'll figure it out.”
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