Identical triplets home in time for Christmas

Hunter, Bodhi and Travis with their parents Stacey and Grant Silk

The mother of a set of "one in a million" identical triplets said she was "overjoyed" to have them home for Christmas.

Hunter, Bodhi and Travis were delivered in November at the Royal United Hospital in Bath to Stacey and Grant Silk.

They spent a few weeks in neonatal care and are now home in Oakhill, near Shepton Mallet, in Somerset, and getting to know their older brothers Juke, seven, and three-year-old Blake.

Mrs Silk joked "sleep is not on the agenda" for her this Christmas.

"We're so lucky that they've all been born healthy and have made such good progress so quickly. It feels as though someone's been looking over us," she said.

Hunter and Travis both weighed 4lb 6oz at birth, while Bodhi weighed 4lb 5oz.

Speaking to BBC West, Ms Silk said: "Sleep is not on the agenda, that's for sure. But to be fair, our three-year-old still hasn't slept through the night."

Travis (left), Bodhi and Hunter were delivered at 33 weeks

Mr and Mrs Silk conceived naturally and were initially told they were having twins.

But they asked for an extra scan when Mrs Silk felt something "wasn't quite right" about her pregnancy.

"We were told there were three - (my husband's) face dropped and then we just burst out laughing. Who could write it?" she said.

"We're taking it one day at a time and embracing the chaos."

The couple have now replaced their car with a nine-seater van.

Identical triplets occur when one zygote - or newly fertilised egg - splits into three and it is thought to be as rare as one in a million pregnancies.

Triplets are usually the result of two eggs being fertilised simultaneously and one dividing into twins.

The news of the birth of the Silk triplets follows that of the identical triplets born to Shannon and Ace Page at St Michael's Hospital in Bristol in October.

Cruz, Aljo and Enzo all weighed less than 3lbs (1.4kg) at birth and spent several weeks on an neonatal intensive care unit.

Mr and Mrs Page turned to IVF after spending several years trying to conceive, and described the arrival of their triplets as "gift from God".