The couple were in sʜᴏᴄᴋ when a ᴅᴏᴄᴛᴏʀ revealed in November that their son wouldn’t be getting one new sibling – but three. They’re a one-in-a-million phenomenon and almost ɪᴅᴇɴᴛɪᴄᴀʟ from head to toe. The Fradel girls, Grace, Stella and Emily, were born on May 6 and while they’re as cute as can be, even proud parents Gavin and Kimberly Fradel have trouble telling them apart.
The parent Gavin and Kimberly Fradel from Wake Forest, North Carolina. Kimberly said:” My first feeling was sʜᴇᴇʀ ᴘᴀɴɪᴄ .” In November, Fradel received a surprising phone call from his ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴛ wife Kimberly, who was visiting the ᴅᴏᴄᴛᴏʀ to check up on their baby. Fradel recalled:” She started crying and she was like, ‘Do you know how many kids were having?’ . I said, ‘Twins.’ and she said, ‘No, we’re having triplets.’ A cloud went over my face and I said, ‘Are you serious?’. This all happened naturally. We were trying to get ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴛ for about a month and it happened pretty quickly. We got three out of the deal. Multiples do not run in either I or my wife’s families. Kimberly did not use any ғᴇʀᴛɪʟɪᴛʏ ᴅʀᴜɢs during her ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴄʏ, he said.”
But the couple’s ғᴇᴀʀ of a ʜɪɢʜ-ʀɪsᴋ ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴄʏ and juggling three new additions to family quickly subsided as friends, family and their employers banded together to help the parents. She said:” Once we got over the initial sʜᴏᴄᴋ and we received so much love from people…we just felt, ‘Okay, we can do this,’. We’re not doing it by ourselves. We’re doing it with the community, and a community of people who love us, love our children, and the support has just make it okay.” Grace and Stella were born a few seconds apart at 11:37 a.m., followed by Stella at 11:38 a.m. The parents were thrilled with their three new daughters, but two-year-old Gavin Jr wasn’t as excited the first time he saw his sisters in the hospital. Fradel said: ” He turns around and said ‘Daddy, take them back,’. I hugged him and said, ‘Son, I can’t take them back. They’re your sisters.'” But now Gavin, who has ᴅᴏᴡɴ sʏɴᴅʀᴏᴍᴇ, only has love for little Emily, Stella and Grace, often kissing them on the head. Kimberly said:” He’s a really good protective big brother. I believe all four of them are going to have unique gifts and love for each that and will take care of each other for the rest of their lives.”
With three small babies in the house, the Fradels now go through 30 diapers and one whole can of formula per day. Fradel and mom Kimberly operate in shifts so she’s able to pump for breastfeeding as well, Fredal explained. In addition to their painted toe nails, the girls all have the same birthmark in a different spots, which makes it easier for their parents to identify them, Fradal said:” Our family has been very supportive. There’s a lot of work, but we’re getting it done. I love them. They are just beautiful little girls. They’re all ɢᴇɴᴇᴛɪᴄ ᴍɪʀᴀᴄʟᴇs — all four of them.”
