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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Tim Hanlon

Couple 'speechless' after beating one in 200million odds by having identical triplets

A couple are "over the moon" after beating odds of one in 200 million to have identical triplets who are so similar they have their own chairs to tell them apart.

The three girls - Harper-Gwen, Marvella and and Evalynn - weighed 2lb 13oz, 3lb 1oz and 3lb when they were born nine weeks prematurely on March 31.

Now, after spending almost six weeks in a Special Care Baby Unit at York Hospital, they are at home with dad James Casper, 26, and mum Jenni Casper, 27.

And the babies have met older sisters Danica, 10 and Gabriella, four.

Proud dad James said: "Now we're at home and we've settled in with them, it's a bit surreal.

"Speechless" James and Jenni with the newly born triplets (Tom Maddick / SWNS)

"But we're just overwhelmed and they've met their older sisters who are absolutely over the moon and are just so excited.

"It's amazing having them home now, it makes us feel more secure knowing that we have got them home."

The couple were originally told they were expecting twins but were "speechless" when they learnt they were actually having triplets at Jenni's 12 week scan.

They then discovered that the triplets were identical at their 20 week scan.

The couple beat extreme odds to have identical triplets (James Casper / SWNS)

James, from Selby, Yorkshire, said: "Jenni rang me as soon as she found out and she told me over the phone. At first I didn't believe her, I thought it was funny because we had been joking, saying 'can you imagine if we're having triplets?'

"She sent me the scan photos of all of their three heads together and my jaw dropped. I was absolutely speechless and I just didn't know what to do.

"I was like 'what do we do now?' I was in tears and then I was happy and then I was thinking how are we going to cope and it was a whole mix of emotions."

James said that Harper-Gwen, Marvella and and Evalynn are all "literally identical" and they are having to put them in certain chairs so they know who is who.

James said it is difficult to tell the triplets apart (James Casper / SWNS)

The bin man said: "Now they are getting a little bit older, they are starting to grow into their features. Now they are literally identical.

"For the first two days of them being home, we left their hospital wristbands on that have their names on.

"Now we have specific seats and bouncing chairs for them. So we have three different ones and we put them in the same chair so we know which one is which.

"If me and Jenni had to close our eyes and someone mixed them up, then it would be very difficult to work out who is who."

James said that multiple births have not been common in his or Jenni's families (Tom Maddick / SWNS)

As the triplets were conceived naturally and shared the same placenta in the womb, there was in a one in 200 million chance that they were going to be born.

James has said he thinks that is "amazing", especially because multiple births don't run in either side of their family.

He said: "It's absolutely amazing and I told Jenni she can do the lottery now. If our luck is this good, then it has to keep stretching surely.

"It's absolutely amazing, we couldn't be any happier really. It's one in 200 million because they are all identical girls and they share one placenta and that was feeding them all."

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