“There’s Larry, Curly, and Moe,” said the sonogram technician. That moment on December 31, 1995, changed the Herrmann family forever.
Bernie and Beth Herrmann had their first son, Zachary, in December 1992, but had experienced three years of unexplained infertility. With the help of Dr. Paul Gabos, Zach was conceived via artificial insemination. After his birth, the Herrmanns were told that fertility may be easier the next time; however, that was not the case.
 In August of 1995, they still were not pregnant and they began interviewing fertility specialists, since Dr. Gabos had retired. Their search landed them Dr. Anthony Wakim. At their initial consultation, the Herrmanns were told that if they could not achieve a pregnancy with three cycles of artificial insemination, they would require in-vitro fertilization. The Herrmanns moved along and had an insemination done in November of 1995. The waiting for good news began.
To the right: The Herrmann miracles celebrate the holiday season while posing for a picture.
On December 24, 1995 Beth received a congratulatory call from their nurse. They were pregnant! They scheduled a sonogram for the following week. When Bernie and Beth walked into the office, they were congratulated on the babies, plural. They were pregnant with triplets! They just looked at each other in shock. The doctor and nurses explained that this was a high-risk pregnancy and Beth could miscarry one or more of the babies in the first 16 weeks.
The next few weeks passed by uneventfully, until week 11 when Beth was admitted to the emergency room for bleeding, but she was not miscarrying and the babies were fine. At seven months, Beth’s Ob/Gyn, Dr. Robert Warner suggested she go on bed rest.
At the end of July, Beth had lost five pounds, so the doctor was concerned and sent her to get another sonogram. Since her prior sonogram, two of the babies had turned and were breech. The babies all weighed about 5 lbs.
On Thursday, August 1, 1996 Beth began experiencing pressure in her abdomen and legs. She had begun mild labor. Dr. Warner suggested she go to Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC. The babies were coming! After arriving at Magee, Beth was prepped for a C-section. At 3:57 p.m., Austin was born, followed at 3:58 p.m. by Tyler and lastly, Alyssa was born at 3:59 p.m. They weighed 5lbs. 4oz, 5lbs. 5oz, and 4lbs. 15oz, respectively. The babies were all healthy. All of the Herrmann’s worries were over.
Seems like the perfect ending to a story, but there is more. In late January, confused and sleep deprived, Beth thought she may be pregnant. Bernie thought that was insane. Sure enough, with Zach at four years old, the triplets only five months old, she was pregnant again. Cami was born September 15, 1997 - just 13 ˝ months later than the triplets. The Herrmanns had their perfect family – five children all under the age of five.
Today, the kids are beautiful and still healthy. Zach is 15, Austin, Tyler, and Allie are 11, and Cami is 10. Beth used to say she never left her house, now she says she never leaves her car.
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