“That in itself is exciting because it’s not going to be the same old experience of having multiples and having multiple boys.” “It’ll be a different experience from having all the boys,” said Nia. “We have a very good understanding of the culture of what family is, in general,” Nia said. Nia is from New Orleans and Robert is Liberian. Countries in West Africa tend to have the highest rates of multiples. It also found that multiples are more common among African Americans, with 4.1 percent having multiples compared with 3.8 percent of whites, 2.5 percent of Hispanics and 3.2 percent of Asians.Ī 2011 study found that the highest rate of twins in the world occurs in Benin, a small country in West Africa where the rate is 29.1 per 1,000 births. In 2014, 3.5 percent of all babies born were twins, triplets or higher-order multiples, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. So she’s probably a little bit better off if she’s done it in that order,” he said.īirth of multiples is at an all-time high. But “there is some evidence that, if you’ve (already) had a baby, that multiple babies have a little bit better odds of going further in pregnancy.
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The risk of premature delivery of triplets is high - about 90 percent are born before term, Price said. “That’s a pretty interesting statistical aberration.” The odds of having natural twins is “about one in 70” and the odds of having natural triplets is “at least one in 1000 or higher,” he said. “That’s pretty rare,” said Thomas Price, a reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist at Duke Fertility Center, when told about the Tolbert family.
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living in the blessing of what’s about to happen,” Nia said.īoth Nia and Robert have multiples in their family Robert has two cousins who each have triplet girls and a pair of aunts who are twins. Now, the two are “past that point of apprehension and just excited and. Nia said, “He broke out in hives and he had to take a little walk.” When they had the twins, Robert couldn’t believe it then, either. They dated for seven years before marrying in 2014. The two met in 2007 through their best friends, who worked together at the same gym, Robert said. “It’s good to be able to show other people that, as a young couple, we can handle so much,” he said. Robert says it’s a chance to demonstrate their strengths. we just look at it as a blessing,” Nia said. “For a lot of people, us having a lot of kids and being so young is perceived possibly as being bad. They’ll also seek reinforcements from family and friends Robert’s mother will babysit on some weekends. They plan to continue that schedule once the triplets arrive. He takes over in the evening while she works on her yoga and coaching business.
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Nia cares for Shai and the twins during the day while Robert works. They also need to convert one of their three bedrooms into a “girl-oriented” nursery, Robert said.Īnd then there are the child-care logistics. The Tolberts are planning to buy a larger car for their eight-person household. “We’re expecting the normal adjustment that any household makes when a new family member comes into the picture,” Nia said. “This was a very, very, very big surprise.”Īfter they got over the shock, Nia, a 28-year-old yoga instructor and wellness coach, and Robert, a 31-year old project manager for a government contractor, began preparing for the girls due in March. We were not planning on having any more children after the twins,” Nia said. Tolbert boys Shai, left, Riley and Alexander are preparing to welcome baby sisters.