The numbers of multiple births have increased over the last twenty years. This increase is primarily due to the fact that one-third of women who are having babies are over the age of thirty, and these women are more likely to ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇɪᴠᴇ multiples. Another reason for the increase in multiple births is due to Fᴇʀᴛɪʟɪᴛʏ ᴅʀᴜɢs and Fᴇʀᴛɪʟɪᴛʏ procedures.
When Tom and Jackie Ochenkowski learned they were expection at her eight-week ultrasound appointment, Jackie found out they were getting a three-for-one deal.
On May 18, 2016 at 32 weeks, Jackie gave birth to her triplet daughters ― Aubrey, Bailey and Charlotte ― via C-section. Each baby weighed three pounds and went on to spend two to three months in the NICU.
During the appointment, Jackie sensed something was ᴜɴᴜsᴜᴀʟ by the look on the ᴜʟᴛʀᴀsᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴛᴇᴄʜɴɪᴄɪᴀɴ’s face. She was sʜᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ when the doctor told her she was having sᴘᴏɴᴛᴀɴᴇᴏᴜs identical triplets an incredibly ʀᴀʀᴇ ᴘʜᴇɴᴏᴍᴇɴᴏɴ.“The hardest part of that was leaving her 2-year-old daughter Brooke at home,” Marrero explained. “She said it was hard for Brooke to adjust and when she came to visit Mommy, she was scared of all the wires that Mommy had dangling from her, but eventually she got used to it.”
After the birth, the photographer documented the triplets’ time in the NICU. The babies went home within days and weeks of each other. Marrero photographed the moment Jackie held all three babies for the first time. She volunteered her services a year later to celebrate their first birthday. A few months later, she took more photos of Aubrey, Bailey and Charlotte.
“Many have told her that ‘life gets tough’ now that the babies are here and it’s likely she’ll never leave the house. Jackie is like…. ‘I’m an outdoor girl,’ and takes those babies everywhere with her by herself,” the photographer explained.
Marrero said Jackie has also expressed her pride in her husband, who works nonstop but devotes himself fully to the kids whenever not working. “When Jackie needs some time for herself, Tom says, ‘Go have some fun, you deserve it, I got this!’”
