A father in Maryland fainted when he saw the sonogram of his unborn child gifted to him by his wife.
He didn't recover until the following day. What did he see? Keep reading to find out!
An Incredible Story
Nia and Robert Tolbert are a Maryland couple that has an incredible story regarding the birth of their children.
Considered to be a medical wonder, keep reading to discover what shocked doctors.
From friends to lovers
Nia and Robert met in 2007 after being introduced to each other via mutual friends.
The pair hit it off, and their relationship lasted years. Then, the couple experienced their first miracle.
Their first miracle
Four years into their relationship, the couple welcomed baby boy Shai into their family.
The small family of two was now a family of three, and little did the couple know it was just the beginning.
Tying the knot
Three years later, in 2014, Nia and Robert decided to get married, celebrating the day with their family and loved ones.
But just before the wedding, Nia had her special news to reveal to their family.
Another baby!
She was pregnant again! Along with the wedding, the family of three was excited to welcome another member to the family.
But when they went to the doctor to find out the gender, they had another surprise waiting for them.
Not one, but two
As fate would have it, the couple wasn't expecting a baby; they were expecting two! And another thing they discovered?
The twins were both boys. Shai was excited to play with his new little brothers.
Twin miracles!
In 2015, Nia gave birth to a healthy set of boys named Riley and Alexander, and the happy family grew to a family of five.
Nia and Robert were happy with their family and decided not to have more children.
A shocking twist
But life has a funny way of humbling you when you least expect it.
While the Tolbert family went on with their lives and their newest members, little did they know that there would be an unexpected shock in their lives.
She had something to share
In 2017, Shai was about to start kindergarten, with his little brothers soon to follow.
It was also around this time that Nia received some unexpected news to share with her big, loving family.
Pregnant for the third time
Nia found out she was pregnant again!
Although another child wasn't in their plans, the Tolberts believed this was simply part of God's plan for them, and they were excited to meet their new bundle of joy.
Something weird about the pregnancy
Nia and Robert were excited about the possibility of having a baby girl, whereas their boys were looking forward to another brother.
But as the pregnancy progressed, Nia felt something different going on.
She started worrying
At first, she attributed the strange feeling to the possibility of having a girl. She felt more physically and emotionally affected by the pregnancy than in her other pregnancies.
She also thought that her belly was growing faster than usual, and she began to worry.
Nia went to the doctor to make sure everything was okay
Nia went to the doctor to get an ultrasound and ensure everything was okay, as she was still taking care of herself as she always had been by doing yoga, eating right, and taking her vitamins.
So, what was the issue?
The doctor confirmed her worries
So when Nia got her ultrasound results, she was anxious to see what was causing her to feel so weird and to make sure her new baby was okay.
One look at the doctor's face told her that she had a reason to be worried.
More twins?
The doctor asked if multiples ran in her or Robert's family, especially considering the twins.
At this point, Nia thought she was expecting twins again, but the reality was more shocking.
Could they handle more kids?
Nia said, "Robert and I have always joked about having a large family, but we did not plan to have any more pregnancies after the twins. But we were in for a surprise."
And what a huge surprise indeed.
Not twins, but triplets!
The doctor wanted a second ultrasound to verify the results from the first, to ensure they saw things correctly.
Nia was sure she was having twins again until the doctor revealed that she was having triplets!
A rare occurrence
Having triplets in itself is a feat of nature, occurring roughly 1 in 9,000 births, and having triplets after twins is even rarer.
This makes Nia a wonder for beating the odds of giving birth to twins and triplets naturally, without fertility treatments.
A medical wonder
Dr. Rami Tabbarah, Nia's doctor who also delivered her twins, was shocked by the news that she was now having triplets.
He attributes the fascinating occurrence to Nia's hyperovulation, meaning that her body releases more than one egg during ovulation.
Different factors result in multiples
According to the doctor, "Hyperovulation is very rare [...] eight people out of 1,000 might be hyperovulators, and those will be the people that get the twins."
He also explained that factors such as a woman's height, heredity, ethnicity, and age play a role in her chances of having multiples.
Their lives were about to become chaos
Of course, the question now was, how was she going to tell her husband? She had gone to the doctor by herself, where, as she puts it, "everything kind of spiraled out of control."
She didn't know what to do.
She was leaving
Around that time, Nia had also been planning a weekend trip with her friends.
She figured she'd leave behind a gift to tell him the big news that he would find after she left.
Leaving behind clues
Her gift included the sonogram of the triplets and three onesies to show what she was indicating clearly.
She also included a note to her husband, "please accept this gift from me and God."
He was so shocked, he fainted!
After Nia left, Robert found the gifts.
After piecing together the clues, from the long sonogram to the onesies which were numbered, the sheer shock from the realization caused him to faint.
Father to half a dozen children
In Robert's own words, "I was just shocked…I just went straight to bed."
Robert's shock was understandable. After all, he was about to be a father to twice the number of children.
Let the planning begin
Despite his initial shock, he accepted the reality of the situation and called his wife to congratulate her. They then began planning what they would need.
Luckily, they still had enough supplies left over from their three previous children.
Hoping for a girl
Since Nia and Robert wanted a girl, they wondered if at least one of the triplets would be a girl.
Instead of being told directly, the doctor informed a family member of the gender of the triplets, and they threw a gender reveal party.
What color is inside those balloons?
At the time of the party, the Tolberts popped balloons filled with colored confetti- pink or blue-to reveal the gender of each triplet.
But the contents of the balloons would reveal yet another big surprise.
Three girls!
One by one, Nia and Robert popped all the balloons. The results were shocking as pink confetti flew through the air. The triplets were all girls!
Nia and Robert were excited to have three new baby girls in addition to their three boys.
Warming up the idea of sisters
Shai, Riley, and Alexander, on the other hand, were hoping to play with more boys.
But over time, as they watched their mom's belly grow, they warmed up to the idea of welcoming three new baby sisters.
1-2-3 Mom
By this point, the Tolberts began receiving media attention, and Nia earned the nickname "1-2-3 mom".
In an interview with Us Weekly, Nia said, "We are both excited about this new experience of parenting girls. Rob is enthused about having his own entourage, as the boys stick to me like glue!"
Early contractions
A couple of weeks before her due date, Nia began experiencing her first contractions.
But as they came and went, she didn't take them too seriously. After all, she had plenty of experience.
Contractions getting faster and faster
But soon, she noticed that her contractions started coming within five minutes of each other and decided to go to the hospital to make sure.
Nia thought they would send her home, like her other pregnancies.
An early birthday for the triplets
And what was the doctor's reaction? "We're going to have the babies today."
Nia and Robert were shocked, considering the due date was February 9. A date that was still a few weeks away.
Her water broke!
Nia called Dr. Tabbarah, and her water broke as soon as he walked in!
The doctors prepared Nia for her cesarean section, and the Tolbert family prepared themselves for a long night.
The family of five became a family of eight
On January 30, 2018, the Tolbert family grew by three and became a family of eight.
They welcomed three baby girls, and they, along with their mother, were happy and healthy.
Happy, healthy, baby girls
The girls, one fraternal twin named Mackenzie, and identical twins Zuri and Bailey, may have been born early, but they were healthy, weighing between 4 to 4.6 pounds.
The parents couldn't have been happier,
Totally Tolbert, a crowdfunding campaign
The family gets a lot of help from family and loved ones, but they also have the support of their online community.
They started a Fundly crowdfunding campaign called Totally Tolbert to raise money for a car big enough to support the family of eight.
Mother and entrepreneur
Since giving birth to six children, Nia also started MOTHERLOVINGYOGA™, a platform to encourage healthy lifestyles through the power of yoga.
She also has an Instagram account called thecozycorner suite, where she shares her adventures in designing rooms for her children.
One very big happy family
And for now, the Tolbert family has no plans to have more children, instead enjoying each day together.
You can follow along for Tolbert family adventures on their Instagram page, totallytolbert, or Nia's personal blog page, theblackqueenmother.
