Janae and Blake Frazee check on their triplets, who were born Dec. 21. The Frazee triplets are one of five sets at Methodist Women's Hospital.
Five sets of triplets, including the set born to Janae and Blake Frazee, are at Methodist Women's Hospital.
Molly Seals looks at her triplets — Stevie, Otis and Sutton. The Seals triplets are one of five sets at Methodist Women’s Hospital.
The Seals triplets were born Nov. 29 to Molly and Otis Seals.
The five sets of triplets at Methodist Women's Hospital top the hospital's previous record of three sets. Pictured is one of the triplets born to Kinlea and Brett Adkins.
Triplets born to Macayla and Curtis Pribnow are in the neonatal intensive care unit at Methodist Women's Hospital.
Triplets born to Lillian Romero and Richard Lipprand are cared for in the neonatal intensive care unit.
The staffers at Methodist Women’s Hospital know their way around a baby boom.
They have even had some among their own staff.
But the latest influx of babies is a little different: The Omaha hospital has five sets of triplets in its neonatal intensive care unit, topping the previous record of three sets of triplets.
Chinyere Oarhe
All 15 babies — seven girls and eight boys — are doing well, said Dr. Chinyere Oarhe, a neonatologist at the hospital. The babies were born between Nov. 29 and Jan. 8.
“The parents are happy. We are happy,” Oarhe said. “It’s an amazing thing. It’s just a reflection of the good work the whole team does at Methodist Women’s Hospital. We are really grateful and excited.”
Molly and Otis Seals welcomed their triplets — Stevie, Otis and Sutton — on Nov. 29. During their stay, they have seen more and more parents of triplets arrive.
“You just don’t see triplets very often,” Molly Seals said. “It’s crazy how it all happened at once.”
The other sets of triplets were born to Janae and Blake Frazee; Macayla and Curtis Pribnow; Kinlea and Brett Adkins; and Lillian Romero and Richard Lipprand.
The neonatal intensive care unit at the hospital can accommodate up to 60 babies at a time, Oarhe said. The floor also is equipped with rooms designed to hold twins and triplets.
Initially, the babies may be admitted into separate NICU rooms, but by two or three days into their stays, they usually wind up in the same room. That often makes it easier on Mom and Dad.
Caring for high-risk babies, especially sets of multiples, is tough, Oarhe said, but the unit is always prepared with staff and resources.
“It’s a lot of teamwork and effort,” she said, “but a lot of bundles of joy.”
As far as multiples, the hospital sees plenty of twins. Triplets are a much rarer occurrence, Oarhe said, although advances in reproductive technology have led to more cases.
According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3,400 sets of triplets were born in the United States in 2018, the latest data available.
The Seals, who live in Omaha and teach for Westside Community Schools, had been trying to get pregnant for about three years. They knew there was a chance they could have multiples because of fertility treatments, but they thought at most they would wind up with two babies.
It was a shock to learn they would be having three. It took a few weeks to sink in.
They started ordering car seats and strollers and traded in the SUV for a van. The couple decided to rent out their Omaha home and move in with Molly’s mom to have an extra set of helping hands.
The babies have strong personalities, their parents said.
Daughter Stevie has a dramatic streak. She always wants to be held and eats only when she feels like it. Otis, named after Dad, is a little competitive. Mom and Dad think he might butt heads with Stevie as they grow up. And daughter Sutton goes with the flow.
Dad said he’s excited to experience all of the firsts — such as steps and words — times three. Mom said she’s looking forward to see the unique bond the children will develop as they grow up together.
“We’re just so happy to have been blessed with three,” Molly said.
One birth, multiple babies: 8 stories of rare cases and surprised parents
The pregnancy was the first surprise for the Omaha couple with no plans to expand their family. The second was hearing three heartbeats. Amber Morgan gave birth to rare identical triplets on Aug. 26, 2015.
Melissa Kayser, left, holds Tierney, while Kayser's sister Lisa Auten, right, holds Ashlynn on Aug. 10, 2017.
Unable to maintain a pregnancy, Kayser used a gestational carrier. Auten offered to do the job for her sister and ended up carrying surprise twins.
Aaron Smith holds Aaliyah, left, and Cassadee; Candace Smith holds AJ and Skyler. The quadruplets were born Feb. 9, 2017, at Methodist Women's Hospital.
The four newborns were the first quadruplets born in the state in 2017, according to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
Julie Kleymann gave birth to Omaha's Lakeside Hospital’s first set of triplets on May 26, 2015. Jeff, right, was the first to be born, followed by Lyla, middle, and then Knox.
Their parents, Julie and Drew Kleymann, met while working the overnight shift at the same hospital 2006, then married in 2010.
The Teten triplets, held by parents Derek and Lindsey on July 22, 2017. The trio was the second set of spontaneous identical triplets — they were conceived naturally — born at Methodist Women's Hospital. The first set was born in 2015.
"It's like winning the lottery twice," said Dr. Brendan Connealy, a maternal-fetal specialist at the Omaha hospital.
Quadruplet Connor Negus in the neonatal intensive care unit at Methodist Women's Hospital in Omaha on Jan. 11, 2013.
Dr. Todd Lovgren, the perinatologist who oversaw their care, said there have been fewer than 100 cases reported in the United States of quadruplets developing inside their mother the way these did.
Newborns Kayla, Leonidas, Thomas and Arya are held by their parents Ezinne and Andrew Jones of Omaha on June 11, 2015. The couple had the quadruplets on May 27, 2015.
The foursome was the first set of quadruplets born in Nebraska in 2015, according to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
Arleth Garcia was born on July 25, 2013, weighing 2 pounds, 6 ounces. She was part of Nebraska's third-ever set of quintuplets. The set of five were born at Methodist Women's Hospital in Omaha to Bianca and Jose Garcia of Sioux City, Iowa.
kelsey.stewart@owh.com, 402-444-3100, twitter.com/kels2
Kelsey Stewart
Kelsey covers health and fitness for The World-Herald. Follow her on Twitter @kels2. Phone: 402-444-3100.
