A mum-of-four who had decided she ᴅɪᴅɴ’ᴛ want any more children and was going to get her ғᴀʟʟᴏᴘɪᴀɴ ᴛᴜʙᴇs ‘ᴛɪᴇᴅ’ was sʜᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ to discover she was ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴛ again just one year after giving birth to her youngest. And this time it was triplets.
Bobbie Rutland, 31, said she laughed when she first heard the news, then started crying. She said:”I laughed at first, and then I cried. And then I laughed some more, and then I cried some more.” Mom Rutland, who is ᴜɴᴀʙʟᴇ to use most forms of ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴀᴄᴇᴘᴛɪᴏɴ – had been so sɪᴄᴋ during the first 12 weeks of her ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴄʏ that her husband, Shane Sutherland, joked that she might be having twins.
The Western Australia mum had been nervous when she first found out she was ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴛ again, but also excited that her youngest would have a sibling so close in age. But when she and Shane heard those three distinct ʜᴇᴀʀᴛʙᴇᴀᴛs, the couple couldn’t help but also feel a little scared of their growing family. And the triplets made sure that their arrival into the world would be just as surprising as the news of their existence. Bobbie was ordered to take bed rest in the ʜᴏsᴘɪᴛᴀʟ for two weeks after she began having ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴsat the 28-week mark. Just a day after she was finally able to go back home and rest, the ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴs began again.
By 8pm that Tuesday night Bobbie and Shane knew she was in ʟᴀʙᴏᴜʀ and so rushed to the nearest ʜᴏsᴘɪᴛᴀʟ, in Armadale. Jeanine Vlyminck, the same ᴍɪᴅᴡɪғᴇ who had delivered Bobbie’s one-year-old son, requested that the couple be transferred to a sᴘᴇᴄɪᴀʟɪsᴛ ʜᴏsᴘɪᴛᴀʟ. But she immediately realised there wasn’t enough time and called for an ᴇᴍᴇʀɢᴇɴᴄʏ ᴄᴀᴇsᴀʀᴇᴀɴ. Twenty minutes after she went into ʟᴀʙᴏᴜʀ, Bobbie was giving birth. By 9pm on March 7 all three triplets had been welcomed into the world, 10 weeks before they were due.
There was one boy, Cooper, weighing 1.4 kilos, and daughters Emma and Charlie, weighing 1.2 kilos and 1.3 kilos respectively. Bobbie said all three babies are now doing ‘fantastic’. She said:” They’re all above their birth weight and just came out of their ɪɴᴄᴜʙᴀᴛᴏʀs yesterday and are in the little cots. They’re doing absolutely fabulous.” The babies will stay in ʜᴏsᴘɪᴛᴀʟ until they gain enough weight to go home and join their their 11-year-old sister and brothers aged nine, eight and one. Bobbie said her children can’t wait to see the triplets, who they have not yet been able to meet as Cooper, Emma and Charlie are still in the ⓃⒾⒸⓊ.
But the mum-of-seven is ‘excited’ for the big family to come together. She said:” I’m scared, obviously, bringing three babies home instead of one, but I’m excited. Just being able to spend time with all of the kids, obviously having seven of them is going to be an experience! I do not intend on having any more children. Seven children is more than enough.”
