The U.S. had more than 3.9 million births in 2013, according to the most recent birth data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Of those, just 4,364 were triplets, 260 of which were in Washington, according to the CDC data.
Kadie and David Warner knew they had a narrow window of time to have a baby.
Kadie had recently received a high-dose of radioactive iodine to fight thyroid cancer. She had to wait a year to see if another dose would be necessary. Her doctors told her one dose lowers the odds of conceiving; two doses would make getting pregnant even tougher.
The U.S. had more than 3.9 million births in 2013, according to the most recent birth data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Of those, just 4,364 were triplets, 260 of which were in Washington, according to the CDC data.
So Kadie’s doctor gave the Vancouver couple the go-ahead to try for a baby in the interim.
One month later, Kadie learned she was pregnant. The following month, Kadie and David learned they were having not one baby, but three.
The couple who were told they may have a hard time conceiving suddenly were the parents-to-be of spontaneous triplets.
“It was two weeks of head-spinning shock,” Kadie said. “We really couldn’t even believe it for a while.”
Kadie was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in April 2013. She had two surgeries before having her first dose of radioactive iodine. The Warners found out they were pregnant in January and learned they were having triplets in February. In April, they found out all three babies were girls.
Kadie continued working as a fourth-grade teacher at Orchards Elementary School until May 20, when, at 22-weeks pregnant, she was put on bed rest. On June 9, Kadie began having contractions.
“Everyone was really worried because those are really early babies,” Kadie said. She was less than 26 weeks pregnant.
Kadie was admitted to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center and remained there on bed rest for two more weeks.
The babies were delivered via Caesarean section on June 24 — Kadie’s 29th birthday — when she was just 27 weeks pregnant. A full-term pregnancy is 39 to 40 weeks, but most triplet pregnancies last 32 weeks, according to the March of Dimes.
“That was the best birthday present,” Kadie said.
First came Piper Jo at 2 pounds, 7 ounces. Then Zelda Rose, who also weighed 2 pounds, 7 ounces. Last was Laurel Rene, who weighed 2 pounds, 9 ounces. They don’t know yet if the girls are identical.
Laurel had to be intubated at birth; the other two only needed the CPAP machine, which is a treatment that uses mild air pressure to keep the airways open.
“They’re actually doing remarkably well for 27-weekers,” Kadie said.
The girls remain at PeaceHealth Southwest in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit. All three girls remain on the CPAP, but the machine is only using room air, not oxygen. All three were off of their IVs within a couple of days, and they’re all getting breast milk through feeding tubes, Kadie said.
Piper and Zelda are back up to their birth weights. Laurel is about a half ounce shy of hers.
“There’s nothing substantial we’re watching or concerned about,” Kadie said. “They just need to grow.”
Premature babies typically stay in the NICU until they’ve reached what would be 34 to 36 weeks gestation, but it’s possible the girls could need to stay longer, Kadie said.
Until they go home, Kadie spends her days rotating between the three NICU rooms. She holds one baby, skin-to-skin, for about 90 minutes. Once she’s done, she eats and pumps breast milk. Then, she repeats the routine for the other two girls.
David returned to his job as a preschool teacher a couple of days after the girls were born. He’ll continue working until it’s time for the babies to go home, when he will take more time off.
Kadie won’t likely return to teaching until at least January. She doesn’t receive paid maternity leave, so the couple started a GoFundMe page, www.gofundme.com/mnjxio, to raise money to help pay some of their medical bills and living expenses. The page has collected more than $3,000 so far.
Because of the girls’ low birth weights and their long stays in the NICU, the Warners will receive some Social Security assistance. A man at their church also donated his Jeep Cherokee to the couple since they had a pair of two-door cars, neither of which could accommodate three car seats.
“It’s been pretty incredible,” Kadie said. “His request for payment was just to hold them.”
“God is just providing,” she added. “So I’m not worried, but it’s certainly trying to not be working.”
She’s also still fighting thyroid cancer.
Next month, Kadie has a follow-up appointment with her endocrinologist to determine whether she needs another dose of radioactive iodine. If so, she’ll have to be away from the babies for two weeks — something she’s trying to avoid.
Given the previous radioactive iodine dose, Kadie and David knew they likely only had one shot to have a baby. They never expected triplets — they have no family history of multiple births — and were especially surprised to have three girls, since the Warner family hasn’t had girls in two generations.
“We’re just happy to have them,” Kadie said. “Everybody asks us how we’re going to do it, and we don’t know. It’s just one day at a time.”
Marissa Harshman: 360-735-4546; marissa.harshman@columbian.com; twitter.com/MarissaHarshman
