Precious Treasure

Three weeks before my second pregnancy came full term, a X-ray revealed that I carried three babies.

Earlier that same day, the doctor attending my pregnancy suggested that a X-ray be taken when he thought that perhaps another heartbeat was audible ....

We never thought that it might be twins, much less triplets. No such occurence in our family histories. Besides, I was a natural, needed no fertility drugs, and fell pregnant easily ...

In those days, sonar scans were new technology, virtually unheard of.

This pregnancy came close to full term, and when the babies were born, their combined weight was 17 pounds 4 ounces.

We were blessed with two girls and a boy, helped into this world by caesarean section. Each having his/her own amniotic sac, they were born unidentical.

Their birth times were given as two minutes apart from each other, and we always have a chuckle when we speak about the fact that one moment we were three in our family, and within four minutes our family doubled in size.

This all happened thirty five years ago on this day. And our lives were never the same again.

With three babies and an elder sister of three years, the only practical transport mode soon became a yellow VW Kombi. 1700 Automatic. This vehicle stayed in the family for many years ... it served us faithfully.

I was asked many times how I coped with three babies and another toddler - fact was that there was not much time to think on the situation: there was always work waiting to be done; the next batch of towelling nappies to be washed,(disposable nappies were unheard of), bottles to sterilize and formula to prepare, (I refused point blank to breast feed and immediately incurred the gyne's wrath!). There were thousands of other chores waiting ... or so it felt.

We received no grant from the government and apart from a three month's supply of S26 milk, we were not sponsored in any other way.

My sewing and knitting skills increased by the hundred fold. Many practical ways were contrived to make life easier.

It became a problem to find time to spend with Lindy, then three years old, and many times I would think of the unfairness of trying to be able to keep balance in the situation.

Another down point was the always present tiredness and fatigue ..

There were many blessings too: Although Lindy was a colic baby, none one of the triplets were prone to this very trying and tiring situation.

As they grew up, they always had each other as playmates.

Our love for each other have only increased over the years and we are blessed to be a close knit family.

Today all the children are married with families of their own and and have so far produced between them seven grand children. Lindy's first born was a set of twins ...

In this image (Winter 1976) is shown from left: Lindy ( five and a half), Johann (30), Blanche (on Johann's knee), James and Cecile (two and a half).
(Image: Blip of an old pic)

Thirty five years ago, today .... what a wonderful life!