South Dakota mom Danette Giltz thought she and her husband, Austin, were done having kids after their son and daughter were born. So when she started having stomach pain, she assumed it was kidney stones (which she had before) and rushed to the hospital for treatment. Imagine her surprise when doctors told her she was actually 34 weeks pregnant and going into labor …and about to have twins!
It gets crazier. Glitz got a bigger surprise during her c-section when docs delivered not two, but three babies. Life changed forever for the Giltz family in the course of about four minutes, when they went from being a family of four to a family of seven. Mom and babies are doing well, despite not knowing the babies were on the way. Dad named his triplets--two girls and a boy--Blaze,Gypsy, and Nikki and they are each healthy and weighed around four-pounds at birth.
"You don't ever see triplets being conceived naturally, let alone going 34 weeks without knowing," Danette says. “I go to the doctor's thinking I'll have surgery for kidney stones and end up going into labor with a C-section that night. It's crazy.”
First of all, this family welcomed three healthy babies into the world so, congratulations! That's worth celebrating.
But I have questions.
Full disclosure: I have never been pregnant. But I am a 36 year old woman who has a pretty solid understanding of how the female reproductive system (and human body in general) works. I am always so completely baffled by these I-didn't-know-I-was-pregnant stories, especially with women who have been pregnant before and would (I assume) remember that feeling. I would think it would be even more noticeable with pregnant with multiples! How could you carry three babies to 34 weeks and not notice changes in your body? ! I'm not being judgemental; I sincerely want to understand how this happens! I flip out if I gain a few pounds unexpectedly, so I have a hard time believing I wouldn't notice weight gain/stomach protrusion from pregnancy. I mean, it obviously happens enough for there to be a whole TV series about it, but it's shocking to me!
So, if you have an I-didn't-know-I-was-pregnant story, PLEASE share. I want to understand how this happens!!!
[KOTA]