Three is magic number for new mum

The feeding of triplets sounds like a nightmare but Knocknacarra doctor’s secretary Egle Lydon and her husband Seán have it down to a fine art thanks to a combination of tips garnered on the internet and the advice of the maternity nursing staff at University Hospital Galway.

The Lydons of Homefarm, Moycullen became the parents of four children (they already have four and a half years old Lukas) on August 20, when Evan, Daniel and Sofia were born, each weighing in at just under five pounds each.

News of the births have brought joy not only to the couples’ families and friends but to the wider community who last welcomed a set of triplets 35 years ago to Agnes and Michael Murphy, also of Homefarm.

To date this year the Lydon triplets are the third set to be conceived naturally (as opposed to IVF) and a fourth set is due to be born there sometime over the next two weeks. That so many multiple births would be born without IVF is quite unusual, it appears.

Egle, a native of Lithuania and Seán – who is more used to being behind the lens of a camera rather than in front of it as he is a photographer by profession – were shocked when they found out they were expecting triplets. There is no history on either side of multiple births.

But once over the shock and the severe morning sickness experienced by Egle, they set about baby-proofing their house and stocking up on three of everything.

Seán jokes that the buggy is so big, he can never visualise them walking around the footpaths with it. They obviously had a cot and a few other baby paraphernalia as they had always planned to add to their family, but it was a question of either sourcing second hand or borrowing.

Egle, who has worked in Dr Declan Larkin’s surgery in Knocknacarra for the past six years, is very organised and has turned a downstairs office space into a nursery.