Baltimore couple welcomes identical triplets

(CNN) —When Kristen and Thomas Hewitt of Baltimore were expecting their first child this year, they went in for a sonogram.
The technician looked at the screen and got very quiet.
"So to break the silence, I jokingly said, 'So, is there more than one in there?' " Tom Hewitt said. "The technician then said, 'Yes,' and then I asked, 'Is there more than two?' and again she said, 'Yes, actually, there are three.'

"Kristen and I then looked at each other with pure joy and shock."
On October 6, the Hewitts welcomed rare identical triplets at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center. Born first was Thomas III, a.k.a. Trip, who weighed in at 4 pounds, 3 ounces. He was followed by Finnegan "Finn" James (3 pounds, 6 ounces) and then Oliver "Ollie" Dean (3 pounds, 12 ounces).
The triplets, whose arrival was announced by the hospital this week, are extremely rare. Of the roughly 4 million babies born in the U.S. each year, only a handful are "spontaneous" identical triplets, conceived without the use of fertility drugs.
The triplets were born via C-section at 33½ weeks.
Identical spontaneous triplets are so unusual because the embryos come from one fertilized egg and then separate, the hospital said.
"Incidence of fraternal twins are much higher (90%) than identical (10%), but it is even a more significant ratio for triplets," said Victor A. Khouzami, chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and medical director of Women's and Infant Services at the medical center.
"As you can see, to have a patient with spontaneous identical triplets is incredibly rare," Khouzami said, adding that the three were born in "excellent condition."