First time mum and dad welcome three wonderful Christmas babies

Having to find somewhere for a first-time mum-to-be to stay and then give birth before Christmas is not an original story - but it doesn’t usually involve triplets.

That’s exactly what happened to brand-new mum of three baby girls, Ellie Davies.

When Ellie became unwell in Carmarthen’s Glangwili Hospital’s maternity ward staff rang around to try and find space in a hospital with a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Fortunately, there was a bed for her in Singleton Hospital along with onsite accommodation for her fiancé, Craig Butland.

Ellie, who lives in Milford Haven, explained: “I had pre-eclampsia and was taken to Glangwili, my blood pressure was going up and down. They had to ring around hospitals with a NICU to see if they had any spare beds – Singleton was the only one with space.

“I was moved to Swansea on the 12th November and was on the antenatal ward for a week. Then, on the Sunday 17th, my kidneys became affected by the pre-eclampsia and I was going into renal failure.

“I then had an emergency C-section in the early hours of the Monday morning (18th) and the girls were delivered two months early.

“They all went to the neonatal intensive care unit straight away.

“I only met Isla, the middle triplet, for around 2 minutes before she was taken to neonatal to be with her sisters.”

Mia was born weighing 2 pounds 9 ounces, Isla 2 pounds 10 ounces and Elsie 2 pounds 8 ounces - they are all over 3 pounds now.

They spent nine days in NICU. After initially needing support with their breathing, at this moment in time the three sisters are being cared for at Glangwilli Special Care and are doing ‘really well’.

As they look forward to their very first Christmas together, their relieved parents have nothing but praise for the unit’s staff.

Ellie said: “The staff were fantastic - we want to thank everyone who was part of our care, prior to the birth we would like to thank midwives Louise and Emily who were amazing and we really appreciated all the support and care they provided us in the run up to theatre and the birth. They answered any queries we had and, as we were first-time parents as well, they were really supportive.

“We’d like to say a special thanks to Dr Sree Nittur because he was there when the girls were delivered and he followed up, every day he was working, he would come and see us. Lastly, the nurses in neonatal were absolutely fantastic and we can’t thank them all enough for the due care & attention they provided our beautiful daughters.”

While Ellie was in a hospital bed, and the girls in NICU, Craig needed to find accommodation close to them rather than face the near 140 mile round trip from their Milford Haven home.

Fortunately, staff handed him keys to one the properties on Cwtsh Clos, a row of five houses on the Singleton Hospital site, offered to families with babies in NCU who do not live nearby.

Ellie said: “Craig spent a week in Cwtsh Clos and I joined him for the final night.

“It was a huge help, having Craig so close, I was so grateful for that. 

“It’s one problem that you absolutely don’t have to think about.

“It’s just nice to have that space to step away from the hospital and be able to gather your thoughts and get your headspace back.”

The couple have shared their story to help support Swansea Bay Health Charity’s Cwtsh Clos appeal, which aims to raise £160,000 to refurbish and re-equip the homes.

Ellie said: “We would encourage everyone to support the Cwtsh Clos campaign as it’s such a worthy cause.”

Lisa Harris, Interim Matron for Neonatal Services, said: “Myself and the rest of the team at Singleton are delighted to hear that the three girls are doing so well and that Ellie and Craig felt supported during their stay. 

“It's really important to us that we work closely with parents in the care of their newborns. 

“For families who live far away like Ellie and Craig, Cwtsh Clos allows parents to be close by to spend time with their babies and help the team here at Singleton give the very best care."

NICU consultant, Kate Burke, said: “Triplets area rarity for us. We serve families across the whole of south central and south west Wales – we are often the unit that people turn to when pregnancies are more complicated and need a specialist level of care. 

“It’s lovely to be able to care for families like the triplets and to keep them as close to home as possible and then to be able to have good relations to which they go back to be cared for. 

“I’m sure they will have a fantastic and very busy first Christmas at home.”