When Wellington couple Sammie Nonu and Francis Vaaua found out they were expecting, they had no idea what lay ahead. The first-time parents assumed they were pregnant with just one child – until they discovered an additional heartbeat at the second scan. Then the third scan shocked them both – a third heartbeat.
“We were coming to terms with twins, but when it was triplets, naturally my brain went to how we were going to function and manage,” shares Sammie, 33.
“I was crying and Francis was crying – but for different reasons. I was freaking out and he was excited!”
Sammie was pregnant with naturally conceived “spontaneous triplets”, a shock given multiples don’t run in their family. They were tri-tri triplets, meaning each of them had their own separate placenta and amniotic sac – “three singletons”, notes Sammie.
At 6am on 2 December, when Sammie was almost 24 weeks pregnant, her waters broke. She woke up Francis, 31, and the couple rushed to hospital, leaving without an overnight bag or even a phone charger because they had no idea what lay ahead.
“I’ve never seen Francis jump out of bed so fast,” laughs Sammie.
“I thought maybe I’d have an appointment and be put on bed rest for quite some time… I was in denial.”
A world-first challenge
But it quickly became clear this was an emergency. The couple was transferred by ambulance from Lower Hutt to Wellington Hospital.
“I couldn’t count how many specialists, consultants and midwives came in – it was overwhelming,” Francis says.
“They had everything set up for prem babies – three resuscitation tables were set up, labelled Triplet 1, Triplet 2 and Triplet 3 – and said their chance of survival was 50/50.”
But there was another twist – it seemed only one of the babies was trying to make an early entrance, while the other two looked content where they were. The medical team consulted a specialist in Australia to see if they could birth one while the other two remained safely inside – not something they believe had been done in Aotearoa before.
The advice came back: It had been done, and it was recommended to give the other two more time to develop and grow. So the next morning, Triplet 1 made his entrance. At 8.24am on 3 December, Xavier was born vaginally, weighing 675g and barely the size of his dad’s hand.
For the next two days, the couple was in limbo with Xavier fighting for his life outside of the womb, while his brothers were still growing inside Sammie.
“I had one baby in NICU and two inside me – it was crazy,” Sammie recalls.
A birth like no other
Then, on 5 December, Sammie went into labour again. This time, traumatised from the first birth and knowing there was risk in naturally birthing two prem babies, she opted for an emergency C-section.
For safety, she needed to be put under for the delivery. At 10.10pm and 10.11pm, Maverick and Carter were born by Caesarean, one minute apart from each other and two days after their brother Xavier – an extraordinary birth story of triplets borntwo ways on different days.
“They weren’t sure how long it would take for Maverick and Carter to come after Xavier – hours, days or weeks,” laughs Sammie.
“At one stage, it was a possibility that we’d have triplets born in different years, given it was December!”
The triplets spent 147 days (almost four months) in NICU, with their parents watching them face one challenge after another. There were infections, breathing problems, brain bleeds, operations, laser eye treatment, and countless scans and medications.
“One would do well and get better, another would become unwell and, at times, all of them would be unwell together,” shares Sammie.
“We watched them turn blue a couple of times and be resuscitated. “We just had to let the professionals do what they needed to do – the boys were in the best possible hands.”
Love in the NICU
Francis works in housing youth and had to return to work early January, leaving Sammie to keep up with the morning rounds with the specialists and watch over
their sons. However, amid the heaviness and fear, there were also moments of joy thanks to the caring NICU team.
One of their nurses joked that Sammie and Francis should get married in NICU – and then she ran with the joke, sourcing a veil, decorations, cake and balloons, plus a nurse to officiate their unofficial wedding. The three boys were even wheeled out to act as their dad’s groomsmen.
Sammie points out it was “unofficial” and jokes that Francis still needs to put a ring on it. The couple met in 2024, when Francis reached out through Instagram, asking to take her out for dinner. True to his word, he drove from Wellington to her home in Hawke’s Bay that next weekend and they hit it off.
“At first, I thought his profile was fake because it said he did Amazing Race Australia,” Sammie says.
“I tell everyone about that because it just tells you what kind of person he is – spontaneous, fun, a go-getter who doesn’t shy away from a challenge, and that’s just how he is as a dad to our boys.”
Home at last
Francis adds, “I thought she was so beautiful, and I was pretty straight up about who I was, and wanting marriage and kids. We weren’t here to muck around – we
were both ready to settle down and live life. When you know, you know.”
After almost four months in hospital, the boys were finally ready to go home – accompanied by oxygen tanks, monitors and lots of cords.
“The first night at home was just us, no emergency button, no medical professionals – I don’t think we got that much sleep,” Sammie says.
“But we camped out in the lounge for a few weeks, so we had everything at arm’s reach for feeding, changing and bathing. “It was nice because when the boys were born, we were parents, but we weren’t parenting – being home meant we became parents.”
Thriving at last
Today, the brothers are about five months on from their original due date and are off oxygen and thriving – gaining weight, giggling and developing very different personalities.
The laidback parents say Xavier, the eldest, is independent, sweet and smiley, happy enough by himself with a book. Maverick is the biggest and loudest, while Carter already seems to have a strong personality.
“He rules the house a little bit,” laughs Sammie.
There is already a sign of that triplet bond – they smile at each other and reach for each other’s hands to hold – although there is the occasional sibling squabble, mainly between Carter and Maverick.
“Those two are either smiling at each other or fighting,” Mum jokes.
Never say never
The pair – who were originally tossing up whether to have one child or two – have been told the chance of getting pregnant with multiples again is very high.
“I think we will have more children,” Sammie smiles.
“It’s too early to say, but never say never. Even though the entire experience was so scary and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, these boys are the biggest blessing and the greatest thing that’s ever happened to us.”
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