An English couple who beat the odds of one in 200 million by giving birth to identical triplets has finally brought their premature daughters home.
James Casper, 26, and Jenni Casper, 27, of Selby, North Yorks, were initially told they were expecting twins but were “speechless” when they learned they were actually having triplets at Jenni’s 12-week scan.
During their 20-week scan, they discovered that the triplets were identical.
“Jenni rang me as soon as she found out and told me over the phone,” James said. “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?’”
Jenni later sent her husband photos of the scan with all of their three heads together and his jaw dropped.
“I was absolutely speechless and I just didn’t know what to do,” James said. “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.”
On March 31, 2023, the three girls—Harper-Gwen, Marvella, and Evalynn—were born nine weeks prematurely weighing 2 pounds 13 ounces (1.27 kilograms), 3 pounds 1 ounce (1.38 kilograms), and 3 pounds (1.36 kilograms).
After spending almost six weeks in a Special Care Baby Unit at York Hospital, they are now at home with their parents and older sisters Danica, 10, and Gabriella, 4.
“Now we’re at home and we’ve settled in with them, it’s a bit surreal,” the proud father said. “But we’re just overwhelmed and they’ve met their older sisters who are absolutely over the moon and are just so excited.”
For the parents, the feeling of having their girls home has been “amazing,” since they’re more secure with them around.
James said that Harper-Gwen, Marvella, and Evalynn are all “literally identical.”
“For the first two days of them being home, we left their hospital wristbands on that have their names on,” James said. “Now we have specific seats and bouncing chairs for them.
“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.”
As the triplets were conceived naturally and shared the same placenta in the womb, there was a one in 200 million chance that they were going to be born.
Neither of the parents has multiple births running in the family so the family thinks they hit the “lottery,” with this pregnancy.
“If our luck is this good, then it has to keep stretching surely;” he said. “It’s absolutely amazing, we couldn’t be any happier.”
