- Louise’s surprise triplets – Ada, Lillie and Maggie – have brought her family triple the love
- Terrifyingly, Maggie began suffering seizures soon after birth and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy
- Now a mum to four little ones, Louise’s heart and hands are full
Here Louise Shaw, 39, from Wollongong, NSW, tells her story in her own words.
My stomach lurched as nausea roiled through me.
It was January 2025 and, just two days earlier, with my period late, I’d taken a pregnancy test and almost fallen over when I saw the two lines on the stick – it was positive!
We weren’t trying, but when I showed my hubby Steve, 37, he beamed.
‘A baby, amazing!’ he grinned.
Stomach flipping, I hadn’t felt this sick with our daughter Grace, then four.
At eight weeks, Steve came with me for the ultrasound.
Cool gel on my tummy, I faced the screen as the technician swiped the wand over my belly.
‘Okay we’ve got one…two heartbeats,’ he said.
My mouth fell open – twins?!
Then Steve pointed to the screen. ‘What’s that?’
The technician moved the wand, and suddenly the unmistakable thud-thud-thud of another heartbeat filled the room.
It was triplets.
READ MORE: ‘Miracle mum: ‘I had twins… then triplets!’’
Steve took my trembling hand and we both cried. How are we going to afford this? I thought, terrified.
That night, we told our family.
They were stunned, but thrilled, and before long our shock turned into excitement too.
Because of the high-risk nature of triplets, my care was transferred to the maternal foetal medicine team at the Royal Hospital for Women in Randwick, Sydney.
At our first appointment in March at 11 weeks, my excitement quickly soured.
‘Baby three has signs of genetic malformation,’ the nurse said. ‘There is fluid behind the neck, which is a high indicator of Down syndrome. It also looks like there might be heart issues.’
We were devastated, but we loved these babies already and weren’t giving up.
That day, a long, thin needle was inserted into my womb to collect fluid from baby three’s sac.
Two days later, when test results came back clear, we were so relieved.
A week later, a neonatal cardiologist’s scans looked normal, and the fluid had disappeared.
We were elated, but the pregnancy was still stressful.
Every two weeks I returned for scans to check the babies’ growth and health.
READ MORE: ‘‘Surprise, it’s triplets!’ First-time mum’s scan shock’
We kept the news from Grace until my belly began to grow.
‘Mummy is pregnant,’ I told her.
‘With three babies,’ Grace exclaimed. Somehow, she’d guessed!
At three months, we found out the gender with a small party at home.
When the confetti cannons exploded pink, I couldn’t stop smiling – three girls!
Being a nurse, my belly made ward work impossible, so I switched to doing telehealth consults and had to start maternity leave early at 25 weeks.
Steve, who runs his own electrical business, worked extra hours to help us prepare.
And we took out a second mortgage to add an extension to our two-bedroom home.
At 29 weeks, Braxton Hicks contractions began. I was admitted to hospital in Randwick on bed rest.
At 34 weeks and four days, on August 19 at around 11am, I was wheeled into theatre for a C-section.
Steve beside me, I listened to a playlist of girl-power songs as the room filled with doctors and other staff.
As Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’ played, I was excited.
READ MORE: ‘I had identical triplets: ‘We go through 126 bottles a week!’’
At 11.16am Ada was born, weighing 2.3 kilos. Lillie followed 15 seconds later at 2.1 kilos.
Then Maggie arrived at 11.17am, weighing 1.9 kilos.
I only caught quick glimpses before they were rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit.
‘You did it,’ Steve said, beaming. ‘They’re beautiful.’
An hour later I was wheeled down to NICU.
Seeing the girls’ tiny bodies on oxygen support was frightening, but I was grateful they were alive.
Only Lillie was well enough for a cuddle.
Holding her against my chest felt like heaven.
Then on day two, Maggie had a seizure.
An MRI revealed brain damage, some of which doctors believed had occurred before birth.
‘Maggie has cerebral palsy,’ they told us.
We were heartbroken.
Day by day Ada and Lillie – identical twins – grew stronger. Soon they were bottle-feeding.
Grace visited after school, making the 90-minute trip from Wollongong with Steve, who was driving back and forth.
Having all my girls in one room was very special. ‘They’re so small,’ Grace cooed.
After three months, Ada and Lillie were finally well enough to come home.
I stayed with Maggie in Sydney while Steve was at home, and we got all the girls together as often as we could.
But Maggie’s health was a roller-coaster. Just when she seemed stable, she’d suffer another seizure or, terrifyingly, a cardiac arrest.
She needed resuscitation more than once. Yet every time, our mighty Maggie fought back.
Over the last nine months, she’s only been home for two days.
In November 2025 she suffered another cardiac arrest while at home and was admitted to Sydney Children’s ICU, where she remained until May 6, when she was transferred back to Wollongong.
Now nine months old, the girls are loud, squirmy and full of personality.
Maggie will need ongoing care, physical therapy and more.
We’ve had incredible support – meals delivered, washing done, food vouchers, and even a working bee on our house extension.
When the triplets were a month old, my sister Ally started a GoFundMe, which has helped pay for in-home care.
When I learned I was having triplets, I created an Instagram account, @shaw_triplet_glam_squad, and discovered a community of families who truly understand. Some have become real-life friends.
When I’ve needed a break, friends from that community have even come to the hospital to sit with Maggie, cuddling her and loving her when we can’t be there.
We know there are hard days ahead, but like Cyndi Lauper said, ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’ – and with four amazing girls, I’m sure we’ll have plenty.
To contribute, search ‘Baby Maggie needs us! Please help her family’ on GoFundMe
