Triple the fun for first day of school

Brisbane triplets Zadie, Brodie and Harlen have been counting down the days until they start Year 1, while their mum Farron Owen has been reaching for the tissue box.

 

The Daisy Hill mum gave birth to her premature ‘miracle babies’ at Brisbane’s Mater Mothers’ Hospital in 2016 and can’t believe how quickly they’ve progressed from ‘incubators to school uniforms’.

 

Ms Owen said she will be excited but emotional when she walks the triplets through the gates of St Matthew’s Catholic School at Cornubia on Monday.

 

“I remember the day they were born and how tiny they were. Now, they’re five years old and ready to put on uniforms and wear school bags,” she said.

 

She said there had been some medical challenges for Harlen over the last five years, following his diagnosis with Hydrocephalus, a build-up of fluid on the brain. He has endured six surgeries since he was 10 months old.

 

“They picked up an abnormality during my 30-weeek scan and when he was born his head just started growing rapidly,” Ms Owen said.

 

“Harlen has a VP shunt placed in his brain to drain out the extra fluid - we never know when he will need surgery again.

 

“It has been pretty full on and he has a big scar on the back of his head, but unless you see it you wouldn’t know what he’s been through.”

 

Ms Owen, an emergency nurse, said being a mum of triplets has taught her to be super organised.

“I love the chaos, but I also love watching them grow up,” she said. 

 

“They are inseparable - the best of friends,” she said.

 

Ms Owen, 31, said Zadie was born weighing 1900g and had become a real extrovert.

 

“Her curly hair fits her personality. She can be shy, but she’s a real extravert,” she said.

 

“Brodie was the biggest of the three at birth, weighing 2kg. He’s witty and has a great sense of humour. 

 

“And Harlen weighed 1950g. He’s our little planner - the competitive one. He loves his brother and making friends.”

 

Ms Owen said the triplets were most excited for playing sport with their new friends and going to the school tuckshop.

 

Mater Mothers' Hospitals are Australia's largest maternity service with almost 12 000 babies born every year.