Doctors put the odds of conceiving identical triplets at one in a million — which makes Amber Hills and Logan Brown-Fletcher very special. The mom and dad — both 19 — from Newberg, Oregon, welcomed their three daughters, Raelyn, Avery and Elaina, on Monday, August 1.
The infants — who respectively weighed 2 pounds, 12 ounces; 3 pounds, 11 ounces; and 2 pounds, 15 ounces — were delivered by caesarean section 33 weeks into the pregnancy at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center. According to Hills’ obstetrician, Dr. Mark Tomilson, the average gestational age at delivery for triplets is 32 to 33 weeks; a single baby is 39 weeks.
Hill tells Us Weekly she wasn’t surprised when the ultrasound showed triplets. “My dad has multiples in his family, so I figured it would happen to me someday.” But her fiancé got the shock of his life. “I was crying and swearing!” Brown-Fletcher admits.
“I was a little scared because I was still in high school and working a small job with not many hours,” he continues. “But as we started to approach their due date, I was like, ‘This is going to be life changing, but I am ready.’”
But not everyone in their life sees it that way. The high school sweethearts — who have been together since June 2015 — have faced young-parent discrimination from some of those closest to them.
“A lot of our friends weren’t very supportive at first,” Brown-Fletcher says. “They were all like, “You are too young, you are not ready.’”
And because Hills documented her pregnancy on Instagram, the couple has dealt with backlash from online trolls. Both have learned sometimes it’s better to just ignore the comments. “It’s not going to do much good getting into a fight with someone,” Brown-Fletcher explains. “They don’t know who we are. They have never met us, so they have no idea whether we are too young. We are both pretty mature for our age. And we know what we are doing.”
Meanwhile, the new parents are focusing on more important matters. “I’m just excited to take them home and be a family together in one house,” gushes Brown-Fletcher.
Their neonatologist, Dr. Craig Novak, tells Us the babies are expected to leave Providence St. Vincent Medical Center within the next two to four weeks.
The family has set up a GoFundMe page.
