By Jolene FarleyDave and Dawn Leenderts, Hills, will be welcoming not one baby, but three into their family soon.Dawn, 31, found out during a routine 19-week ultrasound in April that she was the one out of 10,000 women that conceives triplets. The test revealed that Dawn is carrying two boys and a girl.The couple’s son, Dawson, will turn 3 years old in August and they used no fertility drugs to conceive. Although the Leenderts couldn’t find any triplets in the family tree, they have two distant relatives that had twins. Dawn’s grandmother’s sister had twins 70 years ago and Dave’s cousin had twins. Dawn, who was alone when she found out their family was growing much faster than expected, said she cried. "They found two of them," she said. "Then she looked around and they found three.""I was by myself, just shocked," she said. When she called her husband at work to tell him of the findings she warned him he better be sitting down. Dave said he had to calm his wife down. After the ultrasound, Dawn was referred to Perinatologist Dr. William Watson, a specialist in multiple births. Dawn said the only indications she had of a multiple pregnancy was she was larger earlier in the pregnancy and although she had morning sickness with Dawson, it was more severe with this pregnancy."It never went away," she said. "It lasted all day long." She also had urinary tract infection, a common ailment with a multiple pregnancy because the babies press on the bladder.With a due date of Sept. 12, Dawn is now 30 weeks into her pregnancy. Doctor Watson advised the couple that 32 weeks is an important milestone for premature births. Babies born past 32 weeks have better lung development, according to the couple.Earlier in the pregnancy, Dr. Watson prepared the couple for the reality that the babies will be born small and early and they will stay in the neonatal intensive care unit for a while after birth. He told the couple women carrying triplets are usually on bed rest by 20 weeks and sometimes hospitalized.Luckily, Dawn and the babies have done remarkably well and only recently has Dawn been put on semi-bed rest for a couple hours a day. Ideally, Dr. Watson would like to see the babies delivered after 36 weeks, but at the last visit he told the couple it could happen earlier. They have a girl’s name picked out but haven’t chosen names for the two boys. All the names will begin with a "D" like their son, Dawson. Friends and co-workers have given or loaned the couple cribs and other baby items. "The support of the community and family and friends has been wonderful," Dave said.The couple hasn’t developed a definite schedule for help after the babies are born but they say everyone is willing to pitch in. Family members are using vacation time to come and help care for the babies. "The toughest part after the babies are born will be adjusting and figuring out how to manage three infants at one time, three schedules, three feedings," Dawn said. "And trying to find room in our house."The couple was forced to purchase a mini van because their car couldn’t accommodate four car seats.Dave works at New Vision Co-op in Hills and Dawn worked as a Special Education Teacher for the Brandon School District. Dawn was granted 12 weeks of maternity leave, but was turned down when she requested a one-year leave of absence. Dave said his main concern is to make sure that everybody is healthy and things are proceeding well with Dawn and the babies. "I told her we’d just take everything else as it comes," he said. The couple has been trying to prepare soon-to-be big brother, Dawson, for two new brothers and a sister."He likes the sister idea," Dawn said, "But doesn’t say much about brothers." Dawn said she’ll be relieved when her pregnancy is over. "I’m getting very uncomfortable," she said. "They’re in my ribs and they’re all over. There’s not a lot of room for them."The babies will be delivered at Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls .
