[PICS & VIDEO] One for the books: Extraordinary Kaap triplets celebrated their first birthday alongside ‘baie moeg’ mommy
|Published
REAL HANDFUL: Berenice Jacobs with her 1-year-old daughters Claire, Chloe and Cleo
Tafelsig buzzed with excitement on Saturday as three meisies who were born as a set of quadruplets celebrated their first birthday following their extraordinary birth at Groote Schuur Hospital last year.
Dressed in pink dresses and black leggings, sisters Claire, Chloe and Cleo Loots were surrounded by their family and friends who came out to celebrate their birthday, as well as their mom’s, Berenice Jacobs.
The trio made headlines last year when Berenice made an appeal for help with donations ahead of their birth.
She gave birth via a caesarian section on 1 September 2021 to four healthy babies but just weeks after their arrival, the only boy sadly died in hospital after contracting an infection.
Doctors said the delivery had been extraordinary and the three klein girls spent eight weeks in the neonatal-intensive care unit at Groote Schuur Hospital before being sent home to their parents.
On Saturday, Berenice’s Wendy house in Hilda Crescent was brimming with love and excitement once more, this time for birthday celebrations.
Berenice joined her daughters as she celebrated her 37th birthday on the same day.
Looking back at the past year, the proud mommy says she feels blessed but lekker tired as the kleintjies have started to stand up and take their first steps.
“Yoh, ek is moeg, die kinders is besig! They all started crawling at the same time and it was madness trying to watch all three at the same time,” she tells the Daily Voice.
“I am also so used to holding them all at once because they all need equal attention.”
She says due to the exhausting and dangerous pregnancy, the girls were smaller than average babies at birth but have since passed all their health checks.
“The doctors are very happy. They passed all their checks and are growing well even though they were smaller than normal babies at birth.
“They eat lekker and are now on solids, but feeding three babies at one time is difficult.
“They are on solids and enjoy butternut and squashies but their favourite thing to eat is bananas. They can eat that whole day and be happy.”
Berenice says she is proud of how far the triplets have come but says raising three infants at once is not for the faint-hearted.
“They have a routine but they also do as they want. Sometimes I wish they would just take a nap at the same time, ek kan niks doen in die dag.
“When the one naps, the other one wants to play en soe gaan dit heeldag. Ek is baie moeg but I love my children and I feel blessed.”