Oh baby! Triplets born at PBRMC

A Piggott, Arkansas couple’s family doubled in size shortly before noon Tuesday when Brandi Householder delivered triplets at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center.

Brandi and her husband, Jason, along with Dr. Donald Jones are praising the Lord for the safe delivery of the babies, Caleb, Aaron and Sarah. They join siblings Elisabeth, 10; Phillip, 4; and Lydia, who is 13 months old.

The Householder triplets are the first born in the local hospital in 18 years.

Brandi Householder holds one of her newborn triplets Tuesday at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. (Right) Jason and Brandi Householder hold one of their newborn triplets Tuesday at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Provided by John Mark Photography

Caleb, who was the first born, and Aaron weighed in at 3 pounds and 13 ounces each. Sarah weighs 4 pounds 10 ounces.

The triplets were transferred to St. Francis Hospital in Cape Girardeau where the Householders expect the babies will stay until the end of February or early March.

The excited 34-year-old mother is resting at PBRMC after her C-section. She carried the babies for 33 weeks with no complications.

Brandi Householder holds one of her newborn triplets Tuesday at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Provided by John Mark Photography

“It’s awesome to see God’s amazing handiwork as I simply do my job,” Dr. Donald Jones of PBRMC and Ozark OB/GYN said. “My patient’s faith is inspiring and we both give God complete credit for this blessing and the peace He provided throughout the pregnancy and delivery process.”

The Householders, according to Jason, have known “the Lord has been in it all the way.”

They met when Brandi was 15 and were married in 2005. She is a stay-at-home mother. Jason works with his brothers at Householder Construction.

Jason, 40, and Brandi were concerned early in their marriage they might not have children.

“It took us a long time to get pregnant with Elisabeth,” Jason said.

The couple went to the church altar and one month to the day after they prayed they learned they were expecting, Brandi said. The family attends the Living Word Tabernacle in Gipson, Missouri. After Lydia’s birth, they decided they would like to have baby number four, but were not concerned. The other pregnancies were a few years apart.

The day of Brandi’s ultrasound for the new baby, Jason had taken someone to Nashville and “we were hindered by a wreck going and coming,” Jason said. He kept telling her “I might not make it,” but Brandi kept Jason posted on how her appointment was going.

“I made it just in time,” he said.

Looking at the ultrasound Brandi spotted what she thought were twins. Dr. Jones didn’t say anything until he had confirmed the heartbeats.

When he announced triplets both the Householders were stunned.

The only questions Brandi asked were about their heartbeats and if they were healthy. Returning home to announce they were expecting triplets, the couple was bombarded with questions. When they said they didn’t know, friends would ask, “didn’t you ask any questions?”

Dr. Jones said, “Brandi handled her pregnancy as she did the others before this one. She is a classy lady who virtually never complains; she is reliable to follow my recommendations and has a very supportive and helpful husband. These babies are blessed to have them as parents. It takes a great team to achieve great outcomes in high risk pregnancies, and I would like to personally thank Brandi, Jason, and my wonderful staff at Ozark OB/GYN.”

The couple faced the pregnancy with faith. Their two-bedroom house would not work. The couple was offered an opportunity to rent-to-own a large enough home for their growing family. Jason waited and prayed about it. When he approached the owner to say they would buy the home. The owner already had sold it.

His prayers continued until the perfect home appeared on the market. Designed with three bedrooms on one end and at the other end the master bedroom and bathroom had been a day care before it was remodeled. It also has a separate canning kitchen and “we do a lot of canning. The yard is fenced,” Jason said. “The nursery is in our bedroom. It was prebuilt for us.”

They plan to stop with six children and the day after the delivery, Brandi said, “I feel perfect.”

The older children are staying with grandparents. Brandi’s mother Loretta lives in Rector, Arkansas, and Jason’s mother Nellie resides in Piggott. Brandi’s dad Kelly Stephens and his wife Sharon Thompson live in Poplar Bluff.

Brandi said, Jason is “a big help.” He has two weeks off work and is pleased they have a strong support system he knows will pitch in when he heads back to work.

Dr. Jones described the triplets delivery “as a joy.” As a board certified OB/GYN, he was trained in high-risk pregnancies of all types including triplet pregnancies.

“I was fortunate to have trained under a busy group of successful reproductive endocrinologists,” he said, adding, “I have had the opportunity to deliver triplets in the past,” but the Householder triplets are his first at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center.

As Brandi recuperates under the watchful eyes of the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center staff and Dr. Jones, Jason remains positive, saying, “Everything has been ordained by God.”