Family, hospital welcomes triple blessing
Life Roseacres Hospital celebrated the birth of triplets at the hospital, last Monday.
It was triple the joy for Dominique Ribeiro and Nicolaos Raftopoulos last Monday, when they were blessed with not one but three beautiful babies.
The couple welcomed Ariana (at 4.52pm) and Tiago and Stefano (both at 4.53pm) Raftopoulos to the world at the Life Roseacres Hospital.
A thrilled Dominique said the babies, who were born at 31 weeks, are all doing well.
“We are very pleased that they are strong and all breathing on their own,” Dominique said.
The trio will remain at Roseacres until they weigh at least 2kgs.
At birth Ariana weighed 1.47kgs, Tiago weighed 1.45kgs and Stefano weighed 1.3kgs.
Dominique said the news that she was carrying triplets came as a great surprise to her and Nicolaos.
“We were trying for one and then surprisingly, we got three,” Dominique said.
“I had a natural birth and all three babies were in their own sacs.”
The triplets’ sister Zoe-Lee (2) is waiting anxiously at their Glen Vista home to meet her siblings.
“She is extremely excited and keeps asking when ‘her babies’ will be coming home,” said Dominique.
“I have to show her photos and videos of them.”
Dominique and Nicolaos said they are up for the challenge of triplets and have a good support network of family and friends to assist them.
They are also grateful and impressed with the service and care they received from the doctors and staff at the hospital.
“My gynaecologist Dr Sharon Bilankulu, who delivered the babies and cared for me during my pregnancy, and the paediatrician Dr Desmond Thwala, who focused solely on making sure the babies were okay, were absolutely brilliant,” said Dominique.
“Staff in the maternity ward and the staff in the Neo-Natal ICU Unit all go above and beyond the call of duty.”
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Sr Gladys Rapaone, the unit manager of the Neo-Natal ICU Unit, said she cannot remember how long ago the hospital welcomed triplets.
“This is something special,” she said.
Dominique and Nicolaos are looking forward to the day they can take their little bundles of joy home.
“There is nothing better than becoming a mother,” Dominique said.
“You cannot describe the feeling you get when you see your children for the first time.”
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