A loved up couple who met during the first coronavirus lockdown have revealed they're expecting identical triplets!
Megan Smyth and Clayton Whittaker began dating earlier this year and had their first date (a socially distanced walk) in May. And things moved quickly for the couple, with Megan and Clayton moving in together just weeks later in June.
Now, the pair have revealed some very exciting news - Megan is expecting identical triplets, which occur in just one in 200 million naturally conceived pregnancies!
The babies are due in April and the couple are over the moon at the news. "I can't quite believe it! This is definitely not how I expected this year to go," said 31-year-old NHS project co-ordinator Megan.
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"At the start of 2020, I'd just broken up with my ex and sworn off men so never thought I'd be pregnant by the end of the year!
"If someone had said to me in January that I'd be pregnant with triplets, there's no way I'd have believed it. It's overwhelming!
"For them to be identical triplets as well is so rare - I've read somewhere that you have more chance of becoming President!"
Meanwhile, proud dad Clayton, 41, said: "It was very shocking to start with! It's quite a miracle for us.
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"I was very surprised when Megan said she was pregnant. I didn't think that we would have a family that quick but it's happened and we're happy about it. It's a gift, really!"
The couple first met after bonding over their love of dogs on Bumble. And just one week after their first message, they met up for a socially distanced walk around Clayton's hometown of Moorhouse, Nottinghamshire.
With another lockdown potentially looming, the pair decided to move in together into Megan's two bedroom home in Kirkby-in-Ashfield just a few weeks later.
"We haven't spent a day apart since the day we first met," said Megan.
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"We officially became a couple in June 2020 and Clayton then moved in with me a couple of weeks later.
"I was widowed in 2013 and hadn't really done much dating at all until this year. I broke up with a boyfriend in January and met another one in March that didn't last very long.
"With Clayton, it was just very different. We are pretty much the same person in that we view things in the same way.
"We're both very easy going. We just get along, it's just easy, it's not hard work or anything. I think you just know when it's easy to get along with someone.
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"I think it was his idea to move in together so quickly. It wasn't strange at all - he helps out with the dogs and chores, washes dishes, and we take it in turns to cook."
Things started moving quickly when in August, Megan missed her period and decided to take a pregnancy test.
And after attending a private scan in September, the couple found out they were expecting not one but three new arrivals.
Megan said: "I did a test whilst he was at work as I'm working from home. I tried to keep it a secret to tell him in some special way but I caved that night!
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"I don't think we expected anything to happen that quickly! Clayton has a little boy anyway and we were both really excited to be expecting, even though it was so soon.
"My mum was allowed to come with us to the scan as it wasn't lockdown, and I was fretting that there wouldn't be anything in there as I just couldn't believe I was pregnant.
"I asked the nurse to please tell me if there was one and as soon as she put the gel on my belly, I said don't tell me it's twins though! Twins are fairly common in my family.
"She was measuring their heartbeats and I was trying to wrap my head around the fact there were two babies when she said she could see another one.
"Clayton just turned as white as a ghost and put his head in his hands."
Shocked dad Clayton recalled: "Megan was on the bed and I was stood up watching the screen where the scan was and I saw two blobs and initially thought there's two for sure.
"That was the first initial shock that made me a bit clammy and white, thinking it's really nice but also I'll be living my life in the digger earning money to care for two babies!
"Then we saw this other blob and the nurse said there's three. I needed a chair immediately, I just kept saying 'oh my God', I just couldn't believe it.
"It takes so long for something like that to sink in - we came out into the waiting room and were just all looking at each other, absolutely gobsmacked. We had no words to say to each other, it was just such a shock!
"I was thinking poor Megan, she's got to carry these three babies in her first pregnancy!"
The three tots are due in April and Clayton and Megan are busy preparing for their arrival.
Megan said: "Just before lockdown, we bought some second hand cots but it's really hard to buy anything else now because we can't really go to shops so hoping for some luck in the January sales.
"I don't think I've ever met two more excited people than my mum and his mum. They're constantly messaging me asking how the bump is."
Clayton added: "The news has sunk in now and Megan is obviously getting bigger now with the babies, we keep looking at her belly.
"We've bought the van for them so have the space now for the babies and the dogs - we've basically bought a minibus!
"We're really happy now and so excited. Our parents are so excited too - my mum can't wait, she's over the moon."
Congrats guys, this is the best news!
Featured Image Credit: SWNSTopics: Pregnancy, lockdown, Babies, Parenting