Sarah and Bill Imbierowicz of Kokomo, Indiana, wanted to be parents but it proved to be a mission easier said than done. They turned to in vitro fertilization (IVF) but that didn’t really work as expected, either, although it did bring them their son, Will, now 3. When Will turned a year old, his parents thought he might like a playmate so they returned to IVF and from there, the story gets really wild.
A Singleton
The story of the Imbierowiczes begins with three years of IVF cycles, implanting two embryos each time. After several miscarriages, they thought they would up the odds for success by transplanting four embryos. It worked! They got their son Will, now 3.
Triplets
With their IVF history and a playmate for Will in mind, the couple then had three embryos implanted, hoping that one of them would produce the healthy baby they wanted. One of the three embryos was said to be of “good quality” but the other two were not: one of them was described as “not great” and the third was described as not “much point even trying to use it.” But they did use it.
All three of those embryos eventually became healthy baby boys: Drew, Sammy, and Tommy. Will didn’t just get a playmate, he got half the team.
The three boys, fraternal triplets, each weighed between five pounds, eight ounces, and six pounds, one ounce. Tommy needed to spend some time on a ventilator and it looked like Sammy might need one, too, so these two brothers were transferred to another hospital for a while. At 18 months, all three boys are enjoying robust health.
It was then that the Imbierowiczes began to hope for a girl. Sarah was 35 and could hear her biological clock ticking away her opportunity to try for a daughter. Partner Bill encouraged her to think seriously about it. With four toddlers in the house, would one more really be that difficult to manage?
The couple decided to turn to IVF one more time, with the understanding that — boy or girl — this would be their last child. Two embryos were implanted.
During an early ultrasound exam when the couple expected to see two “tiny little dark sacs,” their doctor urged them to look again. There were actually three little dark sacs on the monitor. The couple wasn’t having twins after all. They were having triplets. Again!
This time, all three babies were girls — Emme, Katie, and Maggie — born in January without complication (except C-section delivery) at 36 weeks, which is early for a single birth but right on time for triplets. Maggie is fraternal but Emme and Katie might be identical.
It’s unknown whether one of the implanted embryos split to produce twins or if Sarah was impregnated the old-fashioned way to produce the third.
With seven kids under the age of 4 in the house, the family relies on good organizational skills, helpful friends and family, large deliveries of diapers and other disposable supplies, and frequent trips to the grocery store for milk. Sarah jokes that they’ll soon need their own milk truck or a cow, perhaps, and she likes the balance that the three girls bring to the family’s composition.
Source: “Good Things Come in 3s: The Imbierowiczes first set of triplets were a statistical feat, but the second set was nearly improbable.” kokomoperspective.com. Kokomo Perspective. Jan 22, 2014. Web. Feb 18, 2014.