四喜临门 英女子一年连生4个宝宝

With four babies under the age of 18 months, no wonder proud but exhausted parents Sarah Ward and Benn Smith end up prone on two sofas most evenings with barely enough energy to lift a cup of tea to their lips

英国女子萨拉·瓦德在18个月的时间里生了4个小宝宝，这让萨拉和她的丈夫本·史密斯在骄傲的同时也非常疲惫。有了小宝宝之后的大多数晚上，两人都是瘫坐在沙发上，累得连端起水杯喝水的力气都没有了。

Seven-month-old triplets Stanley, Reggie and Daisy — born just nine months after their big brother Freddie — may be bonny little chunks of gorgeousness, bestowing gummy smiles on all and sundry, but they are highly labour-intensive.

4个小宝宝中，7个月的三胞胎斯坦利、雷吉和黛西是在他们的大哥弗莱迪出生9个月以后来到这个世界上的。这4个宝宝个个可爱漂亮、有着天使般的笑容，但照看他们也真的是很累人的一件事。

This, they both admit, is a far cry from the scene they envisaged when they first talked about starting a family three years ago. They imagined two children, hopefully one of each, nicely spaced apart.

萨拉夫妇俩承认，现在这种情况和他们3年前结婚时预想的可大不一样。那时候他们希望将来生两个孩子，且两个孩子之间有一定的年龄差距。

Mother Nature had other ideas, and just weeks after giving birth to Freddie, in June 2013, Sarah naturally conceived the triplets — a one-in-8,000 chance.

不过显然老天并不是这么想的，在弗莱迪出生仅几周之后，2013年6月份，萨拉又怀孕了，这次是三胞胎，几率仅为八千分之一。

‘It was lovely at first, but when everyone asks the same questions over and over again it does start to grate a little bit,’ admits Sarah. ‘I’m thinking of having a T-shirt made with the words: “Yes, they’re all mine. No, they’re not IVF triplets and, yes, I’m in a rush!”’

“开始感觉很好，可不停地有人一遍又一遍问着相同的问题后，就觉得很烦了。”萨拉说：“我都在想穿一件T恤，然后在T恤写着‘对，这些孩子都是我的。不是，他们不是试管婴儿；是的，我确实忙疯了。’”

‘It’s been incredibly hard, but we see all our children as a blessing and feel incredibly lucky,’ says Benn. ‘When the triplets started smiling and laughing at us, that’s when we really started to enjoy it, and we can’t wait until they start toddling.

“照看四个孩子确实超出想象的困难，但我们觉得四个孩子是我们的福气，我们感到很幸运。”本说：“当三胞胎对着我们咧嘴笑的时候，我们真的特别满足并享受其中，都等不及看他们蹒跚学步的样子了。”

At birth, Stanley, Reggie and Daisy were taken to intensive care weighing 3 lb 12oz, 4 lb 7oz and 3 lb 14oz respectively, but today Stanley is the biggest: a bouncing 15 lb 14oz.

出生的时候，三胞胎斯坦利、雷吉和黛西分别重3磅12盎司、4磅7盎司和3磅14盎司，而现在斯坦利是最重的一个，重15磅14盎司。

The triplets are all the more remarkable because Sarah and Benn were convinced they had fertility problems and feared Freddie might be an only child.

对萨拉夫妇来说三胞胎的意义非凡，因为之前两人曾有不孕问题，所以还一直担心弗莱迪会是唯一的孩子。

Worried that her menstrual cycle had not returned to normal after the birth, Sarah took a home pregnancy test as a precaution — fully expecting it to be negative.

在弗莱迪出生之后，因为月经周期仍未回归正常，所以萨拉在家做了验孕测试，满心期待着会是阴性。

Stunned at the positive result, she sent a picture message of the test to Benn, with the words ‘Guess what?’ He almost fell off his chair at work.

可当看到阳性的结果时，萨拉惊呆了，发照片和文字信息“你猜怎么着”给正在上班的本，本看到后几乎从椅子上跳了起来。

But more surprises were in store. An early six-week scan revealed two sacs, indicating a twin pregnancy.

但是更多的惊喜还在后面。6周扫描检查的结果显示萨拉怀的是双胞胎。

Which was just as well, because at the 12-week scan the sonographer detected a third heart-beat and informed Sarah and Benn that they were expecting triplets.

12周的扫描检查中，超声波检测到了另一个胎心，于是医生通知萨拉和本他们将要有三胞胎了。

The couple have never regretted that decision, but Sarah admits her pregnancy was both physically and emotionally arduous, filled with anguish and fear for the future and guilt over how little time she could devote to baby Freddie.

萨拉和本从来都没有后悔过将三胞胎生下来，但萨拉承认怀三胞胎确实让她承受了生理上和感情上的痛苦，也让她对未来有很多担心，同时伴随她的还有不能常常陪在弗莱迪身边的内疚感。

With four such young children, Sarah plans to put her career on hold until they are older, while Benn is hoping to transfer to a new role closer to home. Even so, it is a struggle surviving on one salary — half of which goes on their £888-a-month rent.

家里有四个宝宝，让萨拉决定暂时抛开事业，直到孩子们长大些再说。而本也希望能换一个离家近的工作。尽管如此，这个大家庭紧靠一份工资生活确实很紧张，况且工资的一半还得用来交每个月888英镑的房租。

Sarah says: ‘We just have to budget and forget about luxuries. We bulk-buy nappies and formula milk so we never run out and just manage the best we can.

萨拉说：“我们得精打细算过日子，不会再买任何奢侈品。我们成批购买尿片和配方奶粉，这样可以省些钱，总之，我们会尽我们所能的。”

‘We feel incredibly lucky, and just can’t imagine life without them.’

“有这四个孩子我们感到非常幸运，现在我们根本无法想象没有他们的生活。”