The couple is over the moon after welcomed miracle triplets on September 10, after spending $6,000 on sᴜʀɢᴇʀʏ to ᴘʀᴇᴠᴇɴᴛ ᴘʀᴇᴍᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ ʟᴀʙᴏʀ.
Crystal Milutinovic, 29, and husband Marco, also 29 from Ohio spent five years trying to conceive their first child, son Demitirje, now three. During that time Crystal was ᴅɪᴀɢɴᴏsᴇᴅ with ᴘᴏʟʏᴄʏsᴛɪᴄ ᴏᴠᴀʀʏ sʏɴᴅʀᴏᴍᴇ (ⓅⒸⓄⓈ), putting her at higher ʀɪsᴋ of ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴄʏ ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴs. Which is why the parents thought it was nothing short of a miracle when they discovered Crystal had fallen pregnant with triplets naturally in 2018. Sadly two of the babies ᴘᴀssᴇᴅ ᴀᴡᴀʏ and the third, Lana, was born weighing just 1lb 9oz stayed in the ⓃⒾⒸⓊ for 109 days, during which time she ᴄᴀᴜɢʜ Ⓔ-Ⓒⓞⓛⓘ and ᴅᴇᴠᴇʟᴏᴘᴇᴅ ᴀ ᴄʜʀᴏɴɪᴄ ʟᴜɴɢ ᴅɪsᴇᴀsᴇ. But she ᴘᴜʟʟᴇᴅ through and the parents were finally able to take her home. Crystal recalled: “The ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴄʏ was ᴜɴᴇᴠᴇɴᴛғᴜʟ and all the appointments were going really well. But at 24 weeks and five days, it was all ʀɪᴘᴘᴇᴅ ᴀᴡᴀʏ from us. Initially, they were doing really but after two days everything went really ʙᴀᴅ.”
The couple were forced to make the ‘ʜᴀʀᴅᴇsᴛ ᴅᴇᴄɪsɪᴏɴ’ of their lives which was to turn one of the babies’ ʟɪғᴇ sᴜᴘᴘᴏʀᴛ ᴍᴀᴄʜɪɴᴇ ᴏғғ. Crystal held both her babies as they sʟɪᴘᴘᴇᴅ ᴀᴡᴀʏ, later saying they’re ‘forever in our hearts’. Having always dreamed of having a big family, the couple were delighted to fall pregnant again the following year. But Crystal, who was pregnant with twins, despite neither of them having multiple births in their families sᴜғғᴇʀᴇᴅ a ᴍɪsᴄᴀʀʀɪᴀɢᴇ and an ᴇᴄᴛᴏᴘɪᴄ ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴄʏ. The couples’ ᴍɪsᴇʀʏ turned to joy as they fell pregnant with triplets again in January 2020. To protect their babies, they paid over $6,000 for a ᴛʀᴀɴsᴀʙᴅᴏᴍɪɴᴀʟ ᴄᴇʀᴄʟᴀɢᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴄᴇᴅᴜʀᴇ which involves inserting a small, woven synthetic band high on the ᴄᴇʀᴠɪx to sᴜᴘᴘᴏʀᴛ it and ᴘʀᴇᴠᴇɴᴛing it from opening, ᴄᴀᴜsɪɴɢ ᴘʀᴇᴍᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ ʟᴀʙᴏʀ. On September 10 at 36 weeks Malina, weighing 5lbs 9oz, Kostadin, weighing 5lbs 10oz and Aleksija, weighing 6lbs, arrived.
Crystal said: “I felt like our family was ʙʀᴏᴋᴇɴ but now it is complete. We felt complete when we brought them home to meet the other kids. I felt like we finally found what we were searching for. We’d like to think they had a little help from above. We are so blessed and ᴏʙsᴇssᴇᴅ with the chaos. They are everything we have ever dreamed of. Our rainbow babies don’t fix what happened. They give us extra love that we didn’t know we can contain or hold. Looking at our rainbow triplets sleeping with their big sis and bro next to them. We feeling complete.”
