Nia and Robert seemed like a regular couple. Married, 3 children, and their careers on track, everything seemed to be bright ahead. They were about to have lives turned upside down in ways they could never have predicted. Nia was so excited to find out she was pregnant for the third time. She and her husband Robert already had six-year-old Shai and twin boys Riley and Alexander aged two. Nia felt different with her third pregnancy, it felt more intense and she got big quickly but just put it down to her body knowing exactly what to do this time round.

It wasn’t until she went for her ultrasound and was asked her family history concerning multiple births that she knew she was having twins. Then the doctor decided to complete one more scan and told her some news she was so hesitant to share with her husband she had to leave him a note and go on a trip. Nia was right to be hesitant; when Robert saw the scan he fainted. Nia recalled the moment the nurse revealed she was having triplets. “She said, ‘Actually, there are three babies,’” Tolbert said. “And I said, ‘Can you make sure there’s not four?’” she said, according to Today.com.

Getting pregnant with triplets naturally is unusual, especially when mom has already had twins. Nia would discover that she hyperovulates, meaning that her body releases more than one egg at a time during ovulation. The excited mom was worried that if she told her husband, he might not come home so planned to leave him a note before going on a pre-planned trip to see a friend. Nia left her husband a handwritten card which said: “Please accept this gift from me and God.”

“I opened the bag and I saw a very, very long sonogram,” Robert said. “Then I saw three onesies in the bag … and they were numbered 1, 2, and 3.” “I passed out,” Robert said. “I blinked a couple of times and thought, ‘Whoa, this is real life.’” At a gender reveal party the couple found out that they were having three girls! They have since recovered from the shock and are getting ready to welcome their girls into the world. “We’re already planning for our new household. It’s going to be equally balanced now — with three little girls and three little boys,” Nia said.