Jordan and Amy Hoecker weren't expecting triplets.
But at some point last year, that's the news that doctors gave the California couple following an ultrasound. A mixed reaction of joy and surprise soon followed.
"I was in shock, for sure," Jordan said. "I just laughed for like three days straight. Maybe that was my way of going into shock, I don't know."
Triplets, which happen roughly once out of every 8,000 pregnancies, would come as a shock to any first-time parents. Jordan and Amy got the news after an ER visit five weeks into the pregnancy.
"There was a week there where I was totally overwhelmed," Amy said. "Although I was happy that everything was fine, I was in shock. I thought about financials and all the baggage that comes with it."
Several months later, on Jan. 12 of this year, the Hoecker babies arrived. Bentley Elise, Barrett Asher and Briar Layne were born that evening just four minutes apart at MU Women's and Children's Hospital in Columbia. All three went on to spend significant time in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
"Going into it, with triplets, you know they're going to be in the NICU," Amy said. "We tried to prepare for that the best we could, but when you get discharged from the hospital and you have to leave all your babies there, you can't prepare for that. It's the hardest thing."
During the babies' time in the NICU, Amy and Jordan visited every single day. A typical NICU visit for Amy would be from 11 a.m. at the latest to around 7:30 p.m. Jordan, a business teacher at California High School, would usually arrive at the hospital by 4:30 p.m.
Bentley, the girl, weighed in at 3 pounds, 3 ounces at birth. The oldest and smallest of the triplets, she also had the most complications along the way. Bentley was diagnosed with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) in the womb. Her weight dropped below the second percentile, which forced delivery. A C-section was set for Jan. 13, but Amy's water broke the day before.
"They thought she could thrive and do better outside my body than inside and she proved that," Amy said.
Bentley was the first of the triplets to check out of the NICU. She was out after 32 days, while boys Barrett and Briar were out after 38 and 40 days, respectively. Barrett's birth weight was 4 pounds, 7 ounces while Briar's was 4 pounds, 8 ounces. The brothers are not identical.
Since being home, Jordan, Amy and the triplets have received tremendous help and support. The old cliché is that it takes a village, but in this case, it's taken a supportive network of family, friends and coworkers.
"I have had help every single day since the babies have been home," Amy said. "I haven't had to do it by myself. I think I could, but it's a lot easier when you have an extra set of hands."
Amy, a second grade teacher at High Point School, was given the remainder of this school year off by High Point's administration. She was also given a baby shower, gift cards and coworkers donated time off.
"High Point has been amazing," Amy said. "I loved working for them before, but they've been right up there with everyone who's been super supportive."
She'll be back at High Point for the 2017-18 school year with a fresh perspective.
"Before, my students were like my kids," Amy said. "But now that I have my own kids at home, it makes me appreciate my students that much more. I can see that they have parents that care about them and it brings a whole new perspective. I think it'll just help me build relationships and be that much more empathetic and understanding."
For Jordan, the contrast of raising three infants and teaching high schoolers has created an interesting dynamic.
"They both present their own challenges," he said. "The high school kids have been really interested in everything what's going on. They liked the updates and stuff and they've been fun to talk to about everything."
Like most teachers, Jordan and Amy are organized. Having a strict routine, when it comes to things like sleep and feeding schedules, which has been a huge help for both the parents and the babies.
"I don't think we could to it all without having a routine," Amy said. "I think it's the only way we stay sane and the only way it could work. We're both really organized anyway, so it's just gotten more extreme now."
Jordan and Amy have documented their parenting experience throughout with the Facebook page Taking On Triplets. With almost a thousand likes, it's helped their extended family stay updated and helped share the experience with others who are interested.
"There's several people from other states who are following it," Amy said. "We just thought it would be a good way to update our families, but we kept it open, because it could help someone else, too."
Bentley, Barrett and Briar are not even three months old, and yet they've been the biggest part of Jordan and Amy's lives for far longer than that. For the Hoecker family, each day is a busy, joyous blessing.
Jordan and Amy weren't expecting triplets, but now, they couldn't imagine anything else.
"We can be insanely overwhelmed, but still be happy," Amy said. "It's all for the better. We wouldn't change it for anything."