When Charles and Deborah Honn were married in 2002, they decided they wanted to have a baby. But there was a catch. Deborah had been married previously, and she had decided to have her tubes tied after giving birth to three children.
Deborah, now 38, and Charles, 45, began treatment for in vitro fertilization in early 2008 with Dr. Kenneth Steingold at the Fertility Institute of Virginia. But weeks after learning she was pregnant, Deborah experienced severe bleeding and feared she had miscarried the baby. When Steingold examined her by ultrasound, he saw nothing at first but a blood-filled uterus. But then he and his staff found what the Honns describe as a "flicker." Soon they saw a second sign of life. Then a third.
On Aug. 8, Deborah gave birth to triplets — each about 3 1/2 pounds — by a cesarean section. Abby was born first, followed by sister Allie, then brother Brody.
