Sweet Surprise for Newborn Photographer Who Couldn't Get Pregnant

A couple who had struggled with infertility recently shocked their friends and family by throwing a gender reveal party with a twist: They were expecting triplets.

The soon-to-be parents filmed the event and posted it on YouTube, where it went viral, racking up more than 2 million views.

STORY: What It’s Really Like to Have Triplets

Two years ago, Desiree, 29, a newborn photographer in Carlsbad, Calif., was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), an endocrine disorder that causes ovarian cysts and infertility. “My job is to take pictures of newborn babies, which makes infertility harder to deal with, but I always tried to embrace the moment to make my clients happy,” Desiree, who is 19 weeks pregnant, tells Yahoo Parenting. She and her husband of six years, Ryan, a physical education teacher, tried fertility treatment starting with two failed rounds of artificial insemination. “In vitro fertilization is $20K per round, so my sister-in-law came up with a concept called the ‘Hope Jar’ to collect donations to cover the costs,” says Desiree. “We raised $14K, and I also blogged about our journey to get the word out.”

STORY: Parents of Triplets Now Expecting Twins

Desiree happily became pregnant and during a six-week ultrasound, the couple received shocking news: “The doctor was listening for the heartbeat and said ‘Congratulations! You’re having twins.’ We were completely stunned, although we knew the odds for twins were high — plus, I’m an identical twin and Ryan has a fraternal twin,” said Desiree. “After a few seconds, my doctor said, ‘Well, it looks like there’s a third heartbeat.’ Ryan and I were silent and then said, ‘Let’s rock and roll.’”

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Desiree and Ryan Fortin are expecting triplets after a long struggle with infertility. They threw a gender reveal party for their friends and family. (Photo: Facebook/Desiree Fortin)

Desiree, who started a blog called Our Journey to Parenthood excitedly announced her pregnancy on social media, but the couple refrained from sharing news of triplets. “However, I told a few girlfriends and my mom,” says Desiree. “I showed her my ultrasound photos, and she started to cry.”

Ryan and Desiree, then 16 weeks pregnant, brainstormed creative ways to break the news and decided to throw a gender reveal party for “twins” (which they told people they were expecting). On the day of the party, around 60 friends arrived at the couple’s home, where they placed bets on the sexes. Then Desiree and Ryan brought out two big boxes marked “Boy or Girl?” filled with pink or blue balloons. They opened one box and blue balloons sailed toward the sky. The second box also contained blue balloons. As the crowd cheered, Ryan said, “We’re actually having triplets!” A friend wheeled out a third box and, when opened, pink balloons burst out.

Baby names were also revealed: Charlize Hope, Sawyer Reed, and Jax Ryan.

With their big secret out, Desiree is now focusing on enjoying her pregnancy and planning the logistics of raising three children. “We have family who live nearby, and I hope to work from home,” she says. “We just have to figure out the birth announcement — it would be hard to top this!”

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