baby

Mum Bobbie decided to get her tubes tied. Then she discovered she was having triplets.

Bobbie Rutland, from Western Australia, was already a mum of four when she decided she was going to have her fallopian tubes tied.

The 31-year-old was unable to use many forms of contraception, so decided undergoing the procedure was her best option to stop her family from growing any bigger.

But then she discovered she was pregnant. With triplets.

pregnant with triplets
Bobbie Rutland during her pregnancy. Image via Bobbie Rutland.

"I laughed at first, and then I cried," she told MailOnline of discovering the news.

"And then I laughed some more, and then I cried some more."

When Bobbie was sicker than she'd ever been during her first trimester, she and her husband Shane Sutherland joked that she was pregnant with twins.

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Then, an ultrasound confirmed that there were three little hearts beating inside Bobbie's belly.

Image via Facebook.

When she was just 30 weeks pregnant, on March 7, 2017, Bobbie welcomed her three new babies - son Cooper and daughters Charlie and Emma - into the world.

The maternity ward at the hospital where Bobbie gave birth had never handled anything more complicated than twins.

But before she could be rushed to a different hospital, clinical midwife Jeanine Vlyminck realised there was no time to waste.

"When the mum told us she was having triplets, I thought well this is going to mean all hands on deck," she told The West Australian.

Bobbie and Shane with their three new additions. Image via Facebook.

She ordered a priority one emergency caesarean, and off-duty doctors, nurses and staff were called in to help.

Within five minutes of being admitted to the operating theatre, Cooper, Charlie and Emma were born, weighing 1.4, 1.3 and 1.2 kilograms respectively.

Bobbie - now a mother of seven - says her three new additions are doing "absolutely fabulous".

Baby Emma. Image via Facebook.
Baby Cooper. Image via Facebook.
Baby Charlie. Image via GoFundMe.
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"They're all above their birth weight and just came out of their incubators yesterday and are in the little cots," she said.

When they've gained enough weight, Cooper, Charlie and Emma will be able to go home and start life with their 11-year-old sister, and three bothers, aged nine, eight and one.

"I'm scared, obviously, bringing three babies home instead of one, but I'm excited," Bobbie said of bringing the babies home.

"Just being able to spend time with all of the kids, obviously having seven of them is going to be an experience!"

LISTEN to the latest episode of HELLO BUMP: Public vs Private, Doulas, and Multiples.

Now that the triplets are born, Bobbie said she is definitely heading to the doctor to get her tubes tied as soon as she can.

"I do not intend on having any more children," she said.

"Seven is more than enough!"

A family friend has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help the Bobbie and Shane adjust to being a family of nine.