Brad and Stephanie Harris had hoped their three little girls would be home in time for Christmas. For the Harris family, Christmas came just a few days late this year as their identical triplets, Addison, Kinsley and Savannah, were discharged from Memorial Hermann Southeast Hospital late this afternoon.
The triplets, born Dec. 1 via cesarean section, all weighed between 3 and 3.5 pounds at birth. The identical triplets have spent the last 5 weeks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Memorial Hermann Southeast, which is routine care that almost always accompanies a birth of multiples.
“We’ve been waiting for this day since the girls were born and while I’m a little nervous to have them all at home at once, I’m so happy at the same time,” says Stephanie Harris. “The doctors, staff and everyone at Memorial Hermann Southeast have been great. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience.”
The odds of delivering identical triplets can range from one in 60,000 to one in two million. “At first we were told we were having twins,” says Stephanie Harris. “Then we went back to the doctor and saw a third baby during an ultrasound and heard a third heartbeat. I was shocked and still trying to get over learning we were having twins when we got news of triplets.”
The family held a brief press conference at Memorial Hermann Southeast prior to taking the girls home. “I know I’m going to be outnumbered now,” says Brad Harris. “It’s all worth it to have our girls healthy and on their way home.
Dr. Purvi Kapadia-Jethva, neonatologist, affiliated with Memorial Hermann Southeast described the scene when the triplets first arrived in the NICU. “We have a really great team at Southeast so you never really have to ask anyone to do anything because they’re already there and doing what needs to be done,” says Dr. Kapadia-Jethva. “We’re all going to miss the Harris family but we’re so happy to see them go home with three healthy girls.