Our Premium Bond triplets were born four years apart

TEACHER Catherine Hunter hit the jackpot after she cashed in her Premium Bonds in a desperate bid to start a family.

She used the money for IVF treatment and scored a remarkable hat-trick when it came to babies.

Because she has ended up with triplets – born FOUR years apart.

And the proud mum told us: “We’re over the moon and very, very lucky.”

Catherine and husband Paul had already spent £15,000 on failed fertility treatment when they decided to try some family bonding with a difference.

And when Catherine, 38, cashed in her £15,000 savings – which had been put aside as a childhood gift by her parents – for a last gamble on a second round, the couple got lucky.

Three of her eggs were fertilised together, making them potential triplets, and they were put in storage at a clinic near central London’s Harley Street in September 2012.

Two months later two of the eggs were put in Catherine’s womb – and she was overjoyed to find they had taken.

The following July came the first Premium Bonds payout as the twins Elliot, 5lb 13oz and Summer, 4lb 13oz, were born by caesarean section. “The day the twins arrived was amazing,” says Catherine.

“I couldn’t believe we finally had not just one child, but two.”

But as she and Paul, 37, settled into family life,Catherine’s thoughts started to turn to the twin’s ‘sibling’ in deep freeze at the clinic.

She says: “A £ 300 bill for storage arrived every November. I couldn’t stop thinking of the embryo as a third baby.

“Paul didn’t see it the same way, but I knew that was a brother or sister for the twins. Last year I convinced him we shouldn’t pay t he annual bill and go for it instead. I knew there was a chance it wouldn’t take. I was amazed when it did.”

Perfect

a mix of both his brother and sister. He has Elliot’s colouring and Summer’s nose, top lip and ears.

“Personality-wise, he’s determined like Elliot but loves his cuddles like Summer.

“They absolutely adore him and constantly fight over who is going to hold him.” Catherine says she “can’t wait” until the day she is able to explain to the triplets how special they are.

“I’m looking forward to it,” she says. “Having IVF is nothing to be ashamed of and the way they were born four years apart makes them really special.”

Catherine says she wants to tell her story to give others undergoing IVF hope that it can work even after failures.

Worried

She recalls: “We first started IVF in March 2012. We’d been trying about three years and had a raft of NHS tests which showed neither of us had any problems. The doctors told us to go away and keep trying, so we were left with the option of hoping or going for private treatment.

“I was 33 at the time and worried about getting older. We did our research and booked into a London clinic off Harley Street which monitors you really closely, taking constant blood tests and early scans.”

But Catherine, of Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, and maintenance engineer Paul were gutted when the first treatment didn’t work. She says: “It was the worst day of my life. I remember it like it was yesterday.”

So she turned to the £ 15,000 in Premium Bonds that her parents Christine and David gave to her as well as her sister Jo. She says: “Jo kept hers and there are times she’ll get a little treat and I’ll be a bit envious. But then I look at my priceless children.

“Those Premium Bonds were worth their weight in gold.”

Yesterday Keith Reed, Chief of TAMBA (Twins And Multiple Births Association) congratulated the couple.

He said: “It’s an honour working here because so many people share their interesting, sometimes difficult and often unusual journeys to becoming parents.

“We’re delighted for Catherine and Paul.”