A mother from the Gulf of Carpentaria in northern Queensland has given birth to triplets in the middle of a lockdown that has kept her separated from her five other children for two months.
Alicia Bee, 31, had boys Elijah, Jaxson and Jett by caesarean at 25 weeks.
Their older siblings are Frederick, 7, April, 6, Jayden, 2, and year-old twins Keith and Kirby.
The Bee family live in the remote community of Normanton, 850 kilometres from Townsville, where Ms Bee had to travel to during her high-risk pregnancy.
While the plan was for Alicia and her five older children to stay in Townsville while they waited for mum to give birth, the coronavirus outbreak made that impossible; Normanton has been in lockdown since March to protect vulnerable Indigenous communities.
Ms Bee's parents - who have fostered children as well as raising five of their own - have been caring for their daughter's older children all that time, including the twin babies.
Despite getting plenty of offers of support from health workers, Ms Bee is confident she can handle raising her eight children on her own — with some support from close family.
"There's a lot of people that've been asking if I need help but I've just been saying, 'I've got it'," she said.
"I'm pretty happy doing it all alone."
After having twins last year, Ms Bee said she was shocked to learn she had fallen pregnant again with triplets.
"It would be a one in half-a-million chance to have twins followed by triplets spontaneously," Dr Cecilia O'Brien, foetal health specialist at Townsville University Hospital, said.
The family have had to rely on daily FaceTime calls to stay in touch while Ms Bee received medical care in Townsville.
"I think it adds another layer to what is always difficult for rural and remote women coming for pregnancy care in major centres," said Dr O'Brien.
"During COVID times, that made that very difficult so we used multimedia to help mum make sure she sees her family."
Ms Bee had to wait a month for her first cuddle with her three newborns because they were taken to the neonatal intensive care unit as son as they were delivered.
"I almost cried, I was so emotional," Ms Bee said.
Two of the triplets will need surgery next month, meaning Ms Bee will have to wait until August to return to her home in Normanton.
She says she loves parenting and can't wait to have all eight children under one roof.
"I've got a heck of a lot of love for my children — and patience!" she said.
