Thrice Happy : New Parents of Triplets Rejoice and Get Accustomed to the Idea

Growing up in Greece, Eleni Anas always wanted to have two or three children someday.

She came to America 13 years ago to visit relatives, met Nick Anas, got married, and then tried unsuccessfully all those years to start a family. Ultimately, she turned to a fertility clinic that implanted “test tube” embryos in her womb three times before she became pregnant.

On Tuesday, the La Habra woman had the three children she had longed for. All at once.

With her triplet sons resting down the hall in Santa Monica Hospital Medical Center’s neonatal ward, Eleni Anas said Thursday that she is “happy” with her new family, although she is a little disappointed she didn’t have “at least one girl.”

Bit of a Shock

When she and her husband learned several months ago that triplets were on the way, it was something of a shock after so many disappointing years of childlessness.

“We were all excited. But after a while we got used to it. We liked it better than having none,” Eleni Anas, 36, said Thursday in a telephone interview from her hospital bed.

Despite the long wait for children, there will be “no spoiling” of her three sons, Peter Nicholas, Nicholas Nick and Christopher Nicholas. “If they cry, they cry,” she said with a laugh.

Her husband’s mother lives with them and will help with the children, Anas said. But if they all demand attention at once, she said: “I don’t know what I’ll do. I’ve never done this before.”

The babies, born five weeks prematurely, are expected to come home in two weeks, Nick Anas said. Peter and Nicholas were reported by the hospital to be in good condition, and Christopher--who is skinnier and is having trouble feeding, his mother said--is reported in stable condition. They ranged in weight at birth from 3 pounds, 15 ounces, to 4 pounds, 3 ounces.

The couple own a tavern, Duffy’s, in La Habra, and Eleni Anas said she plans to return to work after getting the babies settled in their four-bedroom home. They will share one room until they demand more space, she said.

Nick Anas said that he and his wife wanted a family right away after marriage, but after years of tests, doctors determined that his wife suffered from “unexplained infertility.”

“It was hard,” Eleni Anas said of her years of infertility. “If you want something you can’t have, it’s hard.”

“It’s a difficult emotional thing,” her husband said. “Every month that it doesn’t happen, it’s a disappointment.” His wife’s sisters in Greece all have families, which made his wife more aware of her childlessness, he said.

When artificial insemination failed, the couple turned to the California Institute for In Vitro Fertilization in West Los Angeles, directed by Dr. William Karow. With in vitro fertilization, a woman’s eggs are fertilized with the man’s sperm in a glass dish, and then implanted in the woman’s womb.

‘Worst Despair’

“After the first in vitro failed, that was our worst despair,” Nick Anas said. But they persevered, wary that time was running out for his wife. “This was my last chance,” said Eleni Anas. “I’m going to be 37 years old soon, and we thought we’d try a couple more years” before turning to adoption, she added.

On the third try, four fertilized eggs were implanted, Nick Anas said, explaining that it is common for doctors to implant multiple fertilized eggs to increase chances for at least one to take hold in the womb.

Told that three babies were on the way, Nick Anas said he was “overwhelmed.” “We would have been happy with just one,” he observed.

Eleni Anas said her pregnancy was not difficult, although she was advised to “take it easy” for the final weeks. “They did not kick too much. They were easy on me,” she said.

The doctor’s office gave the couple a baby shower, and they got everything in threes. At the tavern, Nick Anas told regular customers that they were expecting twins, just in case one of the babies did not make it, he said.

The couple do not plan to try for another baby, in the hopes of having a girl. It was too difficult just having the boys, they agreed.

Nick Anas said that he is optimistic about the challenges of raising three sons.

“I like kids. And we won’t be able to have any other problems. We’ll be too busy with the kids,” he said with a laugh.