Arms full of happiness
Former world champ’s pink trio
QUEENSTOWN’S newest set of triplets is home and doing well.
The precious bundles of joy, the daughters of Marius and Anél Corbett and sisters of proud big brother Leon, aged two-and-a-half, were only supposed to be born today, January 8, but arrived instead at Life Beacon Bay Hospital on November 15, almost eight weeks early.
Corbett gained renown as he won a gold in javelin in the World Athletics Championships in 1997. The Corbetts live in the Queenstown district.
The triplets were superbly cared for in hospital and made good progress, but because they were so premature and small, they were only allowed to go home when they were four weeks old. At birth Anmari weighed in at 1.72kg, Lika was 1.73 and Hanna 1.52kg, but now they are each nearing 3kg, a landmark, as they will then be changed to four-hourly feeds.
Proud mom Anél says they are certainly a handful and one is kept busy, “But I have wonderful help from Marius at night and my mother-in-law Antjie helps me so much during the day.”
The babies are very good, she says, and she usually has to wake them for their three-hourly feeds. Unlike other babies who may be allowed to sleep, regular feeds are essential for their growth, but fortunately they feed well. They usually sleep soundly between feeds unless they have a wind, of course, just like any other babies. Anél says she was given five stork teas once her friends heard there were three babies and has plenty of clothes for the little girls who have progressed from ‘tiny baby’ garments and are now wearing ‘newborn’ ones.