Judit Minda grew up as a triplet, but the first-time mom was shocked when she discovered she, too, would be having three kids.
“Finding out about being pregnant with triplets was… the most unexpected news I could have ever got,” Minda wrote on Instagram.
The 31-year-old Olso, Norway, mom and her partner Glenn Undheim wanted to have a child, but they were not prepared for more than one.
“I had thousands of thoughts,” Minda told TODAY Parents. “I wanted them all, but I did not want three children at the same time. I thought about all the complications that could occur (with) a triplet pregnancy and I felt extremely scared and confused.”
Minda’s mindset changed when she began thinking about how much she loved being a triplet. Because she is so close with her two sisters, having triplets meant that her children would also have the same unique bond with their siblings.
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According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the birth rate for triplet or higher-order births is approximately 101 out of every 100,000 live births.
“Being triplets was often the best, but sometimes it could get terrible, too. We got compared all the time. We were not called on by our names — just referred to as the Mindas,” she told TODAY.
“But most of the time it was amazing. And still is. I have gone through life having two best friends.”
On Jan. 29, Minda and Undheim welcomed two boys and one girl: Filip, Henrik and Amelia. Minda has created an Instagram account documenting her journey raising three kids, and often posts about the challenges of motherhood.
She is also open about the health implications of carrying three babies.
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Minda has tachycardia, a condition where the heart beats too fast. As reported by TODAY, Minda’s doctors recommended removing at least one fetus because they were worried about the strain that the pregnancy would have on her heart.
Minda and Undheim decided against that.
“The first 20 weeks were really difficult. I was extremely nauseous all the time,” Minda said.
“Throughout the entire pregnancy, I struggled with high pulse and difficulty breathing.”
Her babies also had a few growth issues, which naturally made Minda nervous. She wrote about her anxiety around the health of her triplets and her experiences with specialist appointments and tests.
When the triplets were born via C-section, Minda suffered some post-partum issues, including several viral infections.
“The days after the delivery were pretty tough, I have been fighting all kinds of viruses (sinus infection, flu, throat infection, cold) but that part is much better by now,” she wrote on social media.
“Two days ago I got worse again and was set on antibiotics immediately due to post-cesarean wound infection. It is terribly painful and gives me fever and makes it hard to move around or even to turn in the bed.”
Now that the triplets are five months old and healthy, Minda is doing better and says that her life has changed — for the better.
“Becoming a first time mother to three little babies has made me a different person,” Minda wrote on Instagram.
“I have fallen in love, irrevocably, I have become responsible for little creatures who are absolutely dependent on me, for the first time in my life experienced depression, and a certain desire of wanting to be a better version of myself in order to be able to raise self confident and happy kiddos.”
Her two sisters help with her triplets, too.
“Having them by my side has given me courage, helped me through tough periods and made me realize that there is nothing in life I will ever have to face alone,” she wrote.
Laura.Hensley@globalnews.ca