We have three stories about families (dad's in particular) who were expecting a baby, just like any dad-to-be, but these dads were so surprised by what they were expecting (not just one baby. Or two) that it became viral! Here are their stories:
3, 2, 1... Faint
Nia and Robert Tolbert had a son, and they were one happy little family. But things started changing when Nia got pregnant for a second, and then a third time. This story is about Nia’s pregnancies, which shocked medical experts and the whole nation!
Neither Nia nor Robert could have ever guessed what their lives would bring, and how the entire world became fascinated with their story…
The Love
Nia and Robert’s love story is one for the books. The two met in 2007 through mutual friends, and according to both of them, it was love at first sight! From the beginning, they were beyond devoted to each other and started dating seriously very quickly.
Like any relationship, they had their highs and lows, but they were in it for the long run and recognized they had a lasting love. After a few years of stable dating, they received exciting news!
Read on to find why they're so special:
An Amazing Addition
You might think we're talking about a baby or two, but no. We're talking about more. You should follow this story.
Nia was pregnant! The loving couple could not have been more excited in finding out the news. After all, they knew it was their next step in life- raising a family together and bringing more love into the world.
In 2011, Nia gave birth to a little boy names Shai. The pregnancy and birth went smoothly with no hiccups. Little Shai could not have known he was the first of many many children to enter the Tolbert household!
Tying The Knot
2014 was the year Nia and Robert finally decided to tie the knot. Although they had already been a family with little Shai for quite some time, they figured the time had come to make it ‘official’
But marriage was not the only thing going on for the Tolbert’s at the time, Nia found out she was pregnant again!
The Tolbert’s were once again excited to expand their family and went to find out if they were having a boy or a girl, but they could never have guessed what they would be told by the medical experts…
A Second Pregnancy
The whole Tolbert family were buzzing with excitement with the news of a new addition to the growing family and all demanded to know if they were expecting a boy or a girl, so off they went to get their first sonogram done.
Nia and Robert were told that they were adding to their family not one, but two new babies! Nis was expecting twin boys! What wonderful news for the newly married couple.
The Birth
In 2015, Nia gave birth to identical gorgeous little boys who she named Riley and Alexander. Now a family of five, Nia and Robert decided their family was large enough.
With three cuties running around and destroying everything (as babies do) they had their hands full! But Nia and Robert knew how to work as a team and managed to give each child enough love and attention to keep things under control.
Enough
The family had a house full of love, laughter, and babies. According to Nia and Robert, they had reached the conclusion that they did not want any more children and would focus on raising their three kids with all the love in the world.
They worked like a perfect team taking care of their three children. Having double trouble plus their first baby was a handful but they managed! However, that wasn’t all that was in store for the Tolbert’s.
Surprise
In 2017, Nia got a big and unexpected surprise. She found out she was expecting once again! Despite it not being part of Nia and Robert’s plan, they decided God wanted this for them.
The family of five embraced the news and was excitedly hoping they would have a baby girl this time around! (at least Nia and Robert were hoping; their little ones wanted another boy to play with!)
Oddities
Right from the beginning, Nia felt something was different this time around. Unlike her last two pregnancies, this time she felt something different both physically and emotionally.
Nia put the different feelings down to the fact that she thought she was having a girl! Which was exciting for Nia, who hoped to have another girl in the family after all the sons. But it turns out this was far from the case.
Something Different
There were many things markedly different about this pregnancy than the last. For one, she was much more emotionally triggered by just about anything, and she also was getting bigger much faster than she had with her previous pregnancies.
Nia was confused. Just like the other pregnancies she was keeping fit, going to yoga, and eating all the right healthy foods, so what was going on that was making all the differences? When she went for her first sonogram it became very clear.
The First Sonogram
When she booked her first sonogram, she was excited and quite nervous. She wanted to finally be told why she was going through such a different journey of pregnancy this time around.
“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 surprise it was, especially after what they were told at the sonogram
Surprising Ultrasound
Nia was prepped and ready. Knowing something was different this time around she prayed to god that the sonogram would confirm that her baby was healthy.
“When we were expecting twins, our technician that was doing the ultrasound asked if multiples ran in our family. So this time around, the technician asked the same thing and I thought, ‘Oh, we must be having twins again,’” Nia said.
A Double Check
And indeed, it was the case. The doctor confirmed that once again. Nia was expecting twins! While the news was a lot to digest at first for Nia and Robert, who hadn’t wanted any more children, she soon realised it as a gift and a blessing from god.
When Nia came back from the bathroom after digesting the news in private, her doctor said he wanted to re-do the sonogram and just double check the results. Nia was happy to comply, rather be 100 percent sure what as in store.
The Sonogram
The second ultrasound was even more shocking than the first when the doctor realized Nia was not carrying twins, but triplets! Nia remembers that after hearing this news “everything kind of spiraled out of control”.
Twins was familiar territory for the parents, but triplets were a whole other story, especially after already having three kids! But her and Robert put away their fears and slowly came around to the idea.
Extremely Rare
The doctor that delivered Nia’s twins was also in charge of delivering her triplets and confirmed to the coupled that what they were experiencing, giving birth to one child, then twins then triplets was “extremely rare”.
Dr, Rami Tabbarah added that Nia’s pregnancies were defying all odds.
“We’re talking less than one in 1,000 . That’s a very low chance for it happening to anyone in general,” Dr. Tabbarah said. “It’s very rare to have to twins then triplets in the same lifetime.”
Increased Odds
Although both her and Roberts families had a history of multiple births which upped the chances of Nia having twins herself, her births were still incredibly unique for the entire extended family.
Different things are indicators of increased likelihood for multiple births like being overweight, being taller than usual, being African-American and getting pregnant through fertility.
Nia did not fall in most of these categories, Nia was the only one who knew the news, but it was time to break it to the rest of the family.
Devising A Plan
Nia wanted to come up with a good way of sharing the crazy, exciting and shocking news with her husband Robert. She was leaving Maryland for the week to visit Florida and decided to leave Robert with a goodbye gift that he was sure to find only once she had left.
In an adorable gesture, she left Robert to find her sonogram, which was long, detailed and clearly showed there were babies A, B, and C. along with the sonogram she enclosed three baby onesies and a note which asked Robert to “please accept this gift from her and God”.
The Gift
“I opened the bag and I saw a very, very long sonogram,” Robert Tolbert stated. “Then I saw three onesies in the bag … and they were numbered 1, 2, and 3.” As you can imagine, it was a lot for him to take in. too much in fact. Robert understood what it meant and fainted on the spot.
“I was just shocked,” he said. “I just went straight to bed.” While Nia waited to hear her husband’s response to the gift, he needed some time to digest the beautiful but overwhelming news.
The Call
When Robert regained consciousness after fainting from shock, he called Nia congratulating her despite being anxious about the trials facing the ever-growing family.
Later one he joked that he thought his wife was going to surprise him with the gift of a Fitbit which he was hinting at, never in a million years did he think the gift would be triplets!!
The Aftershock
Nia recalled talking to Robert after she broke the news: “Once I arrived in Tampa later that day for a girl’s trip, I was finally able to get in touch with him and he shared that he was happy, but he’d ‘fainted!” after the initial shock, the couple got straight to work.
The began to make serious changed the couple was set on d “been making adjustments and space for our three little blessings arriving soon!” three babies, three times the amount of work and they wasted no time.
Gender Reveal
The couple decided to make the process as fun as possible. Instead of finding out the gender right away they had a gender reveal party where they would pop balloons and the color confetti inside would tell them the gender.
At the party, they were in for more surprises!! The first balloon popped, and pink confetti exploded out- a girl! Then the second- a girl! And the third…you guessed it- another girl!
Balance
Nia and Robert could not have been more pleased. They had wanted a girl all along and now they were blessed with thee! With three boys and three girls along the way, it was a perfect balance. But can you guess who didn’t take the news of three girls so well?
The boys were hoping that they would welcome three brothers- all they wanted was a house full of ninja turtles and superhero toys! But the adorable three soon came around to the idea of sisters.
Anticipation
“We are both excited about this new experience of parenting girls,” Nia told Us. “Rob is enthused about having his own entourage, as the boys stick to me like glue! I’m curious . . . How will it change the dynamic of our household?”
Nia added, “Will it be like it is in the movies? Who’s going to comb all that hair? It’s going to be eventful, we know it. But we’re leaning on God and Pinterest until we find our flow!”
Due Date Approaching
Their triplets were due January 9th, but Nia had no idea what to expect this time around with triplets on the way. Weeks before her due date she started feeling contractions, but since they came and went, she did not pay too much attention to them…until one day…
Nia decided to call her mom when one day she was having contractions five minutes apart. According to her, she thought she would be “going to go to the hospital and they’ll probably send me home. It happens every pregnancy.”
Trip To The Hospital
Nia fully expected to be sent home after a hospital check-up, but the doctor surprised her when he said, “we’re going to have the babies today”. Nia was in shock and wanted to know where her doctor was.
Then, just as the doctor entered the room her water broke and the triplets were on their way! The family and Robert prayed that everything would go smoothly and braced themselves for the long night ahead.
The Birth
Nia gave birth to all three girls via C-section on January 30th, 2018. The mother and all three of her newborns were healthy and well. When the doctor asked Nia how she was feeling.
Nia responded, ‘finally alone’, we can imagine carrying three humans with you for all those months is quite something!
With a huge smile on Nia’s face, she gushed “they’re so cute. Oh my gosh!” as she held her daughters for the first time. after 34 weeks and five days of pregnancy, Nia and Robert’s little angels were in this world.
The Triplets
Despite being born slightly prematurely, the triplets weighed between 4 to 4,6 pounds and were in great health. Two of them were identical and the third fraternal. All that was left was the task of naming their new gorgeous girls!
The fraternal girl they names Mackenzie and the identical two Zuri and Bailey. Nia got the nickname 1-2-3 mom for the way she had a single birth, twins and then triplets!
Day By Day
When the couple was asked what their plan was now that they had six kids, Nia replied “there is no real plan. We have no idea how it’s going to go”. They decided to work day by day trusting in God that everything would work out.
“God chose us,” Robert said. “We didn’t know this would be our lives, but we’re embracing it wholeheartedly, and we’re going to do the necessary things to make sure our kids are equally loved.” Continue reading to discover how the incredible couple made it work.
It Takes A Village
Nia and Robert emphasized how they would not have managed had it not been from the tremendous help from their family, friends, and neighbors. It takes a village to raise children and everyone in Nia and Robert’s life were up to the task of helping the Tolbert’s ever-extending family.
“But we’re not too concerned,” Nia explained. “I know we’re not going to sleep for a couple years, our grocery bill is going to go up, and our house is not going to be quiet and that’s OK.”
Help Needed
As you can imagine, it's not just the manual labor that increases when you add triplets, it’s the cost of living! Although the Tolbert’s had help from their family and friends, they also started a crowdfunding campaign to help with the increased expenses, which would also go into buying a new car.
It's clear that they needed a new car, they had eight people to fit in at once! The Tolbert’s are confident that they will be able to make their large family and cannot wait to see what the future hold for all their six children.
More Children?
People wonder if Nia and Robert would ever consider having more children? Who knows, maybe Nia would give birth to 4 this time! After all, she has already broken records for rare births.
But that speculation was put to rest when someone asked Nia if they would have more children. Nia said, “Absolutely not. I am confident we are not having any more children.”
And we understand why! Nia and Robert have been open with the public and have found awesome ways to share what’s going on with their adorable family.
Taking Action
The Fundly page they created is aptly named ‘Totally Tolbert’ Nia and Robert added the story of how they fell in love and how they came about creating the page, their goal is set at $40,000 to purchase a new family car, so far, they are up to $16,000
We hope their goal will be reached, after all, who deserves a car more than this loving and positive family of eight! Nia has also proved herself a total superwoman, despite taking care of six children she has also worked on keeping herself healthy and active.
Love Yoga!
Nia’s pregnancies obviously took a toll on her body, but it hasn’t let her become apathetic. She has a private yoga instructor and wellness coach and even launched her brand MOTHERLOVINGYOGA™ in May 2017.
Nia believes yoga can increase in your physical and emotional wellbeing. Her brand is dedicated to the practice of yoga for men and women on and off the mat. But this is not the only social media page created and run by Nia.
The Power Of Sharing
Nia Used her brand to encourage other to stay on their path of fitness and health through yoga and meditation, she is also open about her thoughts and experiences of birth, motherhood and all that comes with it, something she is obviously quite the pro at by now.
What is refreshing about Nia is her openness and raw honesty about her journey, she loves being a mother but also writes about the challenged that come with it.
“Every day has its stream of ‘wtf, leave mommy alone,’ ‘I can’t do this anymore,’ ‘why would you do that?!’ and a few shed tears. But I seem to keep making it to the next day and through the next adventure.”
Keeping It Herbal
Can you believe it, Nia is not only a brand manager, a mother of half a dozen, but she is also an international wellness and empowerment coach at Herbalife Nutrition which manufactures nutrition products for a healthy lifestyle.
Nia agreed to be a spokeswoman for the brand since she relates to the message of a healthy and active lifestyle through hard work and dedication. The company produces vitamins, shakes, and supplements made by the best doctors and help on your healthy lifestyle journey.
Totally Tolbert™
Besides for her own wellness brand, together with Robert they have created many social media pages dedicated to their family counted ‘Totally Tolbert” they have a Facebook and Instagram page thanks to the public demand to be part of their adorable family’s journey.
When people heard about their story, they were justifiably fascinated and wanted to be kept up to date with the ‘1-2-3 mom’ and begged Nia and Robert to keep posting family pictures! Now, thanks to their pages, everyone can be updated on their journey!
Bros And Bows
Their family Instagram account is captioned “We are the Totally Tolbert™ Kru 3 Bros 3 Bows SINGLE (boy) ~TWIN (boys) ~TRIPLET (girls) Follow Our Adventures!!”. Nia added their email in and welcome their fans and followers to share advice or suggestions.
It’s clear from their Instagram that Nia and Robert are pros at capturing the adorable special moments of their family life. Anyone who wants can scroll through the adorable pictures and videos of Shai, the twins Riley and Alexander, and the triplets Mackenzie, Zuri, and Bailey.
The Little Milestones
Nia added a picture with thee adorable pairs of little pink shoes to mark the triplets eight-week mark with the caption “The cuteness strikes again. Happy 8 weeks Baby Dolls.” We can imagine she is overjoyed about getting to spoil little girls for once!
The pages have quite the following with 4k people and comments pour in such as “When can I virtually babysit?” and “They are so adorable! Love the little shoes.”
The Tolbert Boys
Before the triplets were born Shai and the twin boys used to cling to Nia constantly. However, since the three girls came into the picture, they have been spending way more quality time doing fun things with Robert and getting up to mischief.
Nia posted a picture of her four guys taking a break from the girls captioning it, “The Tolbert boys!!!!!! One half of the crew taking a break from the girls!! Xander with the mischief, Riley with the attitude, Shai with the cuteness, and Rob with the Dad Swag
A Cute Photo Shoot
Nia makes sure to track the growth of her triplets, snapping pictures every few weeks. This adorable one shows the girls at 12 weeks, she snapped each girl than all three of them together with the caption “I’m adorable; Mom’s beautiful; Daddy did good.”
Obviously, everyone loved the adorable pictures! Its crazy to see how fast they are growing up and how much they resemble Robert and Nia.
Picture Perfect
While the Tolberts certainly have a lot more in store for them when it comes to raising six kids, that are extremely grateful for their six bundles of joy and their children could not have asked for a more loving, devoted set of parents!
While most people may have freaked out at the news of having unexpected twins, then unexpected triplets, the Tolbert’s took it in their stride and saw it as a gift from God. They have the right attitude in live and are happy and confident in their future despite it all.
'Quints By Surprise'
The Tolbert’s are not the only couple to have to deal with the shock of expecting quintuplets! Everyone knows the Jones family. Parents Ethan and Casey have six children, including quintuplets!
They decided to share this unusual and remarkable experience of having and raising quintuplets in a reality show.
Dailey Challenges
The reality show follows this family through their daily lives focussing on the joys and hardships of raising so many children simultaneously! And the public absolutely loved watching their lives play out on Quints by Surprise.
TLC Special
At first, it was only meant to be an hour and a half special on TLC, but when viewers flooded in with requests of seeing how their story played out, the Joneses ended up opening their personal lives on a reality show for the public for over two years!
Looking Back
Ethan and Casey are classic childhood sweethearts who met in 7th grade in the school dance in Denton Texas and married at the age of 23. Like any young couple, these two desperately wanted to start a family, however, due to infertility problems they ran into many obstacles.
Their First Daughter
They turned to fertility treatment, using both a sperm donor and other methods. It was successful, and their first daughter Eliot McKenna was born on July 14, 2004. But when they decided they wanted to have a younger sibling for Eliot, they were in for a big surprise...
Doubling In Size
This time, a different sperm donor was used and in August 2008, Casey and Ethan discovered they were expecting more than one! The couple was adamant in refusing selective reduction and their quintuplets were born January 6th, 2009 in Austin Texas!
A Medical Miracle
As you can imagine, giving birth to five babies is no easy feat and there were over 25 physicians, nurses and technicians present for the birth.
It went smoothly, and the five babies were delivered, named Brooklyn Faith, Britton Grace, Jack William, Lila Addison, and Ryan Elizabeth.
A TV Hit
The family filmed the first season in 2010, they were in front of the camera about three to four days per week. It was an instant hit watching the trials and tribulations of family life times by five!
Dailey Routine
Although some episodes focus on the daily routine of the Joneses which is entertaining enough, other episodes deal with the family's struggle to afford a sudden family of eight and making trips to visit family such as their trip to Iowa so that the quintuplets could meet their great-grandparents for the first time!
Growing Up
The show aired for three seasons and we got to watch the little ones go through their very first milestones like learning how to walk, learning how to use “big kid" beds and chairs, and all the chaos that ensues along the way.
Public Reception
Although there were mixed reviews with a handful of people criticizing the Ethan and Casey for ‘selling out’ and putting their children in the public eye, the majority of viewers loved watching this family grow and live and learn and found it refreshing how relatable they were.
How Are They Today?
Although after season three the series ended, you can still keep up with the Joneses on social media. They have a Facebook page followed by nearly 100,000 people were they regularly post videos, pictures, and updates about the quintuplets who are about to turn ten years old.
Expected Triplets!
When Joe Buthelezi realized her was expecting quintuplets, he almost collapsed. He and his partner Noluthando whose quintuplets were born at the Clinic Botshelong–Empilweni in Vosloorus were only expecting triplets, but boy were they in for a surprise.
Dr. Moeng Pitsoe chuckled as he recalled how Joe had to be helped to his seat after looking all his strength upon realizing he was now the father to five, rather than three new-borns.
Expected Triplets! Dad collapses at sight of surprise quints
Not Aware
"Three is a lot but they had prepared for that. So, when number four and five came‚ he almost collapsed‚" Pitsoe said. "The mother was calm. She was aware of the commotion around her, but she was calm."
5 Minutes
"C-sections are quick. From delivering the first baby to the last‚ it took five minutes‚" and Pitsoe claimed even this was longer than usual, only because of the surprise of two more babies!
Expected Triplets! Dad collapses at sight of surprise quints
Surprise Surprise
The parents were not the only ones surprised, but Dr. Pitsoe himself was shocked.
"I had delivered the third baby and I was preparing to deliver the placenta‚ when I saw something that looked like a head and there was baby number four. We were joking around that we should search for the fifth baby and‚ indeed‚ there was baby number five!"
Twins From Before
Joe was already a father of twins from his previous marriage and Noluthando had one child herself. Before the birth of her quintuplets, she was afraid she was infertile since she failed to conceive for many years.
Expected Triplets! Dad collapses at sight of surprise quints
More Eggs
"She was taking ovulation induction drugs to assist in releasing more eggs when ovulating. She just wanted one more baby, but she ended up with five‚" Pitsoe said. Well, that medicine worked that’s for sure!
Her pregnancy was quite an eventful one. Within ten days she knew she was pregnant, and although at first, they found out they were only expecting four babies, as the scans progressed only three were visible. Her pregnancy was monitored throughout to ensure the babies would all be safely delivered.
Not New
While Pitsoe stated that many women had fallen pregnant with the help of the drug, very few ever had multiple births, let alone five babies!!
Expected Triplets! Dad collapses at sight of surprise quints
Side Effects
