I kept bumping up

After having one baby then two, it seemed like a joke that I was now having three.

- LUCY LAING

Then I started to panic. How would I fit all their car seats in the car?

Claudia Novek is a mum in at least 100 million after she gave birth to one baby girl, then had twin daughters and then triplets-all without using IVF.

Of the 132 million babies born worldwide each year, doctors have only heard of that happening in a handful of cases.

And even Claudia admits she sometimes struggles with how she bumped up her family in just three stages.

The proud mother of six daughters aged five and under said: "I know it's crazy! And when I look at them all, I can't believe it myself."

Neither local government worker Claudia, 30, nor her landscaper husband Adam, 31, have a family history of multiple births.

So, while they always hoped they would have three or four children, they never dreamed they would have them - and more - quite so quickly.

They met at their local gym in 2014, tied the knot in December 2016 and spent a few years travelling before deciding to start their family.

Claudia says: "We'd only been trying for a few months when I discovered I was pregnant and we were thrilled."

The pregnancy went smoothly until Claudia developed pre-eclampsia at 37 weeks. The condition causes a sudden rise in blood pressure and can be lifethreatening, so she had to be induced.

But the couple were thrilled when baby Alessia was born naturally in November 2019, weighing 6lb 602.

And when she turned one, they decided that they would try again.