The couple became proud parents on August 23 as they welcomed identical twins Liliana, who weighed 2lb 6oz, Isabella, 3lb 5oz and their sister Charlotte, 4lb 2oz. Leonie and her husband Peter, 51, were about to give up because no method worked for them, but their persistence was so great that, in the end, life rewarded them.
It took six years for them to fulfill their dream of becoming parents. They saved up to undergo I.V.F. The process went wonderfully, but when they had their first ultrasound, they couldn’t believe what they saw. His case was sʜᴏᴄᴋɪɴɢ for the doctors, and you only have to see it to be surprised too. Leonie from Brisbane said: ” We spent almost six years trying for a baby and it was devastating to say the least. It took nearly three years for me to fall pregnant naturally at 41, we were elated but our joy soon turned to sorrow when I ᴍɪsᴄᴀʀʀɪᴇᴅ at 13 weeks. We decided I.V.F was our only option and were filled with faith again. You never expect it not to work until it doesn’t. I ᴍɪsᴄᴀʀʀɪᴇᴅ three more times, once with I.V.F and twice naturally. Our dreams of becoming parents were sʟɪᴘᴘɪɴɢ away.”
Peter and Leonie were not considering adoption because they thought they would be too old to be parents, as the waiting list was five years. It was then that they managed to get pregnant after the third I.V.F, which produced the triplets. Leonie recalls her jaw dropping when the ultrasound revealed three heart beats. She said: ” It was definitely third time lucky. I remember we looked at each other and smiled. I spent the following week walking around like a ᴢᴏᴍʙɪᴇ as I was in total sʜᴏᴄᴋ. But we believe you get what you need, rather than what you want in life. We had to upsize our home from a three bed to five bed. And buy an eight seater car!”
Leonie said: “It was surreal taking them home – we didn’t know where to start. They were going through ten nappies per day and 24 bottles a day at the very start. Sometimes, we have to have 1000 nappies in the house at a time. We are fortunate enough to have a nanny who comes four days a week – and help from our family and friends.” Despite a hectic household, the couple couldn’t be happier and they have learnt to be super organised and to never waste time. She said: ” I wouldn’t change our busy lives for the world. Being an older mum definitely has it’s advantages as we have a more positive approach to life these days and follow our intuition. Wisdom is on our side.”
