Kate and Caleb Tipton were understandably worried when doctors warned them that their triplets were likely to be born premature and extremely underweight.
In a happy surprise however, last month the Tennessee couple welcomed two sons and a daughter who are the second heaviest set of triplets on record globally.
Individually of course, Jack, Stella and Luke Tipton were pretty tiny at birth, weighing 7lbs 4oz, 6lbs 3oz, and 5lbs 9oz respectively.
As triplets however, they came close to smashing the world record with a combined birth weight of 19.6lbs, second only to US triplets Evan Patrick, Aiden Cole and Lilly Kathryn, who had a combined weight of 22 lb and were born to Michelle Lee Wilson on 29 July 2003 at Englewood, Colorado, USA.
Carried for 257 days, Evan weighed 8lb, Aiden weighed 7 lb 5.4 oz and Lilly Kathryn weighed 6 lb 13.8 oz.
While the average single baby weighs 7lbs at birth, the average twin weighs 5.5lbs. Triplets typically weigh 4lbs each, and quads usually weigh around 3lbs each.
Jack, Stella and Luke join the Tiptons two daughters Sophia, now aged nine, and Aubrey, eight.
A photo posted by Caleb & Kate Tipton (@c_k_tipton) on
‘We were shocked,’ Kate told ABC News today.
‘They weighed Jack twice. He was first. They thought, ‘That’s not right. He can’t weigh 7 pounds, 4 ounces as a triplet.’
‘There was so much noise and excitement and disbelief.’
Wilson triplets image: Guinness Book of Records
