Dave and Rachel Letts inspect their family sedan, the back seat holding identical triplets, from front, Lilli, Nikkol and Elyssa. The triple delivery has created a financial crisis for the Letts family.By Paul Pickering
THE closest most people get to the prospect of having identical triplets is a quirky story at the end of a news bulletin, or an adorable bedside happy snap in the newspaper.
For one Narre Warren couple, however, multiplying the responsibility of parenthood by the factor of three has become the harshest of realities.
In November, the News reported the improbable birth of Nikkol, Lilli and Elyssa – identical triplets born two months premature into the loving arms of parents Rachel and Dave Letts.
We joined the community in marvelling at the one in 400,000 chance of the birth.
A few months on, the girls are approaching 18 weeks and the Letts family is being suffocated by a financial crisis.
The unanticipated birth of the triplets came as a mixed blessing to Mr and Ms Letts, who already had their hands full with 11-year-old Jade and 11-month-old Jazzmyn.
After using the $12,000 government baby bonus to prepare their home for the triplets, the grant had all but vanished before their eyes.
Now, with Mr Letts resigning from work as a truck driver to help his wife look after the kids, the financial squeeze has created an uncomfortable living environment.
The triplets are sleeping in the master bedroom with their parents, and Mr Letts is desperate to renovate the extended spare room, but the couple doesn’t have enough money to insulate it and plug the abundant leaks.
The family sedan is too small to carry the whole family, with three baby capsules lined up on the back seat.
Even carrying the babies to the car is fraught with danger, with unfinished paving at the front steps causing angst for both parents.
These are all problems the Letts’ cannot afford to solve, but also cannot afford to overlook.
They say the dual-parent pension is insufficient to accommodate their unique needs.
“After we pay the mortgage on the house, we’re left with $180 a week to buy nappies, baby formula and food,” Mr Letts said.
Government and council support, the Letts say, has eluded them and sustained appeals for help have fallen on deaf ears.
Casey City Council director of community services Jennie Lee said all families had access to the Maternal and Child Heath Service.
In the case of multiple birth parents, Ms Lee said this service would link families into relevant support services.
Amid their daily struggle, however, the Letts’ primary source of aid has been Lynne Dunoon, founder of the Multiple Birth Volunteer Support System – a one-woman crusade that aims to coordinate volunteers for multiple birth families.
Ms Dunoon works under the umbrella of the Australian Multiple Births Association, an organisation run and funded by parents.
She said it was easy for people to overlook the strains placed on multiple birth parents.
“It’s time that is restricting these families,” she said.
“Sleep deprivation is a major problem, and you can’t expect husbands to keep down jobs, or a mother to have any normality in her life.
“People are inclined to look at families with multiple births in awe, but that’s as far as it goes,” Ms Dunoon said.
As dire as their situation is, Mr and Ms Letts are optimistic about the family’s future.
“In the end it’ll be nice,” Ms Letts beamed.
“Once this business is over, I’m really looking forward to it.”
