Fremont family adds triplets after stay in NICU

A Fremont family went from a typical family of four to a family of seven in one day in November. Kevin and Crystal Nikkel became the parents of identical triplet daughters — Noelle, Natalie and Eve.

Triplets came 3 months early

The girls were born prematurely at ProMedica Hospital in Toledo 3 months early.

Crystal said she was expecting a Jan. 25 delivery date with her pregnancy until she discovered she was having triplets. That delivery date was then moved to Dec. 20 by doctors. "At 12 weeks we found out they were triplets," she said.

But these Fremont babies did not wait until December and made their appearance on Nov. 1 through an emergency C-section.

Triplets like the Nikkel girls are becoming less common. The CDC's National Center for Health Statistics reported in October 2024 that there has been a decline in triplet and higher-order multiple births since 1998. From 1998 to 2023, the triplet and higher-order multiple birth rate declined from 193.5 to 73.8 births per 100,000 total births. The rate of multiple births declined sharply by 52 percent between 2009 and 2023.

Still, the Fremont spontaneous monochorionic triamniotic (identical) triplets are Noelle, Natalie and Eve.

"We wanted to go with a theme," Crystal Nikkel said, noting when she and Kevin picked the names, the girls were slated for a near-Christmas delivery. All three names have a Christmas or Christian meaning. The Nikkel also have a color-code for their triplets. Noelle wears yellow, Natalie is in purple and Eve is in green.

Babies remained in hospital nearly 100 days

Being premature, the girls had a long stay in the hospital, Kevin said. "With the tireless help of the NICU team and the girls continuous fight to live, they achieved their goal and were discharged from the NICU after several months."

Noelle was released after 91 days and Natalie and Eve went home after 101 days. The girls all weighed over 2 pounds at birth. Noelle was 2 pounds, 10 ounces and 14.2 inches; Natalie was 2 pounds, 6 ounces and 14.6 inches; and Eve was 2 pounds, 7 ounces and 14.2 inches.

"I would also like to add that although those three months of the girls being in the NICU was the most challenging thing Kevin and I have ever gone through, we received so much support from people from our church (Sacred Heart), friends, family, and even complete strangers who just heard our story and wanted to donate," Crystal Nikkel said, who is a registered nurse, but works for her father as time allows.

Though Noelle got to come home before her sisters, she caught the flu and went back in the hospital for another five days and is still on a monitor. The family was taking the premature girls back for weekly check-ups once they were released. For now, they return to see their doctors every two weeks.

The early weeks of the girls' lives where challenging, with the couple traveling back and forth to Toledo while the girls were in the NICU. Due to serious health challenges, the Nikkels did not know if they would bring home all three babies, Kevin said.

Family, friends helped even before the babies were born

But the girls did get to come home and all the support the Nikkels received has helped. Kevin's and Crystal's families each hosted baby showers, and Kevin's company and coworkers at DunlapSLK, PC, of Chalfont, Pennsylvania, also donated gifts. Kevin's coworkers gave time-off hours so that Kevin could take Family and Medical Leave Act for three months when the girls were born. Kevin is an accountant who works from home.

The couple said since the girls' birth, family and friends have helped them continuously. Crystal (née Holland) has family locally and Kevin's mother, who lives in Michigan, visits often.

When the couple traveled back and forth to the NICU, they also received help watching their two older children — Lillian, now age 5, and Jacob, now age 2.

Due to the gifts received, the couple also has not yet had to purchase diapers for the babies. Kevin said they are in sizes zero to three months.

"I feel like I never sit down," Crystal Nikkel said about taking care of her family. She said she changes the girls' diapers every time she feeds them plus when needed. She said it's about six times a day, and the two-year-old is also in diapers.

With three babies, one toddler, Nikkels use 25 diapers daily

Kevin estimated they go through 25 diapers a day.

Crystal said she will be potty-training her son very soon.

So far the girls are sharing a room with three mini-cribs that are supposed to grow as they do. The parents said the room is a little cramped with the cribs and all the girls' stuff. They have three swings, a twin bassinet, a triplet stroller and a multi-seat wagon, which is already getting used.

"With this nice weather, I try and get out every day," Crystal Nikkel said.

The one saving grace for this Fremont family is bedtime.

"They are really good sleepers," she said. The girls go to bed at 10 p.m., awake about 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. and are put back down to sleep into the morning.

Crystal keeps a white board in the living room to keep track of times and care for each girl.

"I thought it would be worse than it really is," she said. Having Kevin working at home in the basement also provides the mom of five a back-up.

"I will give him a text and ask him to step away," she said. "We are really blessed."

rbrooks@gannett.com

419-334-1059