Kayla Richardson was 22-weeks pregnant with her naturally-conceived identical triplet girls when her friends threw her a baby shower.
Kayla's pregnancy was considered high risk (as many pregnancies of multiples are), so she was scheduled for a C-section at 34 weeks. She was supposed to be admitted to the hospital at 23 weeks for monitored bed rest, but during her baby shower, her water broke and Kayla went into preterm labor.
The hospital immediately admitted her. They were able to keep the babies in for another two weeks before she delivered the triplets at 24 weeks. When they were born, the girls each weighed just over a pound.
Olivia, Shiloh, and Sanaa have been fighters, though, spending the last three months in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Kayla has been documenting their NICU stay on her Instagram account, where people have shared their support with the family.
Most of the photos track the progress of the babies, showing how they're growing and becoming more stable.
It hasn't been easy for any of them, but Kayla is so glad that her daughters are doing well.
Kayla was finally able to hold all three of her daughters at once in early November, and it was a wonderful moment for all four of them.
On December 15, Kayla shared an emotional message about her daughters' stay in the NICU and how it was hard on her as a mother.
She told The Huffington Post: "To look at my girls with barely flexible tubes down their throats and an IV in their scalp knowing those girls are my babies that I wanted to be strong and live felt like I was snapped in half. My babies’ time in their safe, protecting womb was cut short and there was nothing I could do about it. It made me feel helpless."
This mom is reaching out to other parents of premature babies now, and she says she's found a lot of comfort in reading about their experiences as well.
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