Triplets make special birthday, Christmas gift for Burin family
"My triplets were born on their big brother's third birthday, so for his third birthday he got three brothers," said Howse.
"That is quite a birthday present. He was very excited about it."
Howse told CBC News the birthday parties for her sons will be a lot bigger than ever before — more kids, more cake and more ice cream.
Of course, that also means more mess.
'Better get a girl'
Howse was considered full-term at 32 weeks, and had to spend three weeks in St. John's to be close to the hospital in case she went into labour.
I just hysterically broke out laughing because I was there by myself, I thought I was not going to have a baby, now I'm having three babies, so it was quite the jump from one extreme to the other.- Jody Howse, on when she found out she was having triplets
Howse was admitted to the Health Sciences Centre on Dec. 10, and three days later gave birth to her three new sons.
She added that there was a time when she was worried she wasn't going to give birth to any babies, and was concerned she was having a miscarriage.
Howse went in for an ultrasound, and the technician said everything was fine, but had to get a doctor, who then told her she was actually having triplets.
"With that I just hysterically broke out laughing because I was there by myself, I thought I was not going to have a baby, now I'm having three babies, so it was quite the jump from one extreme to the other."
When she learned she was having triplets, Howse said her first thought was she "better get a girl," but no such luck.
Now, Howse said she's going to have her hands full with a house-full of four boys under four.
Community support
The triplets are still at the Jaenway Children's Hospital in St. John's. Howse said leaving her babies in the hospital while she returned home was the hardest thing she had to do, but necessary.
"It's very trying, especially when you have one at home who needs you and you have three more who need you, as well. What do you do?"
However, the family has been getting a lot of support from family and friends, as well as the community.
"We've had many donations, our local fire department gave us a donation, a lot of local businesses have done diapers or gift cards — it's been really nice. The support is actually overwhelming," Howse said.
"Even the nurses at the Janeway got together and got diapers for the boys before we left."
Howse is hoping the triplets will be able to leave hospital by next week and join the rest of the family in Burin.