With four babies under the age of 18 months, no wonder proud but exhausted parents Sarah Ward and Benn Smith end up prone on two sofas most evenings with barely enough energy to lift a cup of tea to their lips.
英國(guó)女子薩拉·瓦德在18個(gè)月的時(shí)間里生了4個(gè)小寶寶，這讓薩拉和她的丈夫本·史密斯在驕傲的同時(shí)也非常疲憊。有了小寶寶之后的大多數(shù)晚上，兩人都是癱坐在沙發(fā)上，累得連端起水杯喝水的力氣都沒(méi)有了。

Seven-month-old triplets Stanley, Reggie and Daisy — born just nine months after their big brother Freddie — may be bonny little chunks of gorgeousness, bestowing gummy smiles on all and sundry, but they are highly labour-intensive.
4個(gè)小寶寶中，7個(gè)月的三胞胎斯坦利、雷吉和黛西是在他們的大哥弗萊迪出生9個(gè)月以后來(lái)到這個(gè)世界上的。這4個(gè)寶寶個(gè)個(gè)可愛(ài)漂亮、有著天使般的笑容，但照看他們也真的是很累人的一件事。

This, they both admit, is a far cry from the scene they envisaged when they first talked about starting a family three years ago. They imagined two children, hopefully one of each, nicely spaced apart.
薩拉夫婦倆承認(rèn)，現(xiàn)在這種情況和他們3年前結(jié)婚時(shí)預(yù)想的可大不一樣。那時(shí)候他們希望將來(lái)生兩個(gè)孩子，且兩個(gè)孩子之間有一定的年齡差距。

Mother Nature had other ideas, and just weeks after giving birth to Freddie, in June 2013, Sarah naturally conceived the triplets — a one-in-8,000 chance.
不過(guò)顯然老天并不是這么想的，在弗萊迪出生僅幾周之后，2013年6月份，薩拉又懷孕了，這次是三胞胎，幾率僅為八千分之一。

‘It was lovely at first, but when everyone asks the same questions over and over again it does start to grate a little bit,’ admits Sarah. ‘I’m thinking of having a T-shirt made with the words: “Yes, they’re all mine. No, they’re not IVF triplets and, yes, I’m in a rush!”’
“開(kāi)始感覺(jué)很好，可不停地有人一遍又一遍問(wèn)著相同的問(wèn)題后，就覺(jué)得很煩了?！彼_拉說(shuō)：“我都在想穿一件T恤，然后在T恤寫(xiě)著‘對(duì)，這些孩子都是我的。不是，他們不是試管嬰兒；是的，我確實(shí)忙瘋了?！?/div>

‘It’s been incredibly hard, but we see all our children as a blessing and feel incredibly lucky,’ says Benn. ‘When the triplets started smiling and laughing at us, that’s when we really started to enjoy it, and we can’t wait until they start toddling.
“照看四個(gè)孩子確實(shí)超出想象的困難，但我們覺(jué)得四個(gè)孩子是我們的福氣，我們感到很幸運(yùn)?！北菊f(shuō)：“當(dāng)三胞胎對(duì)著我們咧嘴笑的時(shí)候，我們真的特別滿足并享受其中，都等不及看他們蹣跚學(xué)步的樣子了?！?/div>

At birth, Stanley, Reggie and Daisy were taken to intensive care weighing 3 lb 12oz, 4 lb 7oz and 3 lb 14oz respectively, but today Stanley is the biggest: a bouncing 15 lb 14oz.
出生的時(shí)候，三胞胎斯坦利、雷吉和黛西分別重3磅12盎司、4磅7盎司和3磅14盎司，而現(xiàn)在斯坦利是最重的一個(gè)，重15磅14盎司。

The triplets are all the more remarkable because Sarah and Benn were convinced they had fertility problems and feared Freddie might be an only child.
對(duì)薩拉夫婦來(lái)說(shuō)三胞胎的意義非凡，因?yàn)橹皟扇嗽胁辉袉?wèn)題，所以還一直擔(dān)心弗萊迪會(huì)是唯一的孩子。

Worried that her menstrual cycle had not returned to normal after the birth, Sarah took a home pregnancy test as a precaution — fully expecting it to be negative.
在弗萊迪出生之后，因?yàn)樵陆?jīng)周期仍未回歸正常，所以薩拉在家做了驗(yàn)孕測(cè)試，滿心期待著會(huì)是陰性。

Stunned at the positive result, she sent a picture message of the test to Benn, with the words ‘Guess what?’ He almost fell off his chair at work.
可當(dāng)看到陽(yáng)性的結(jié)果時(shí)，薩拉驚呆了，發(fā)照片和文字信息“你猜怎么著”給正在上班的本，本看到后幾乎從椅子上跳了起來(lái)。

But more surprises were in store. An early six-week scan revealed two sacs, indicating a twin pregnancy.
但是更多的驚喜還在后面。6周掃描檢查的結(jié)果顯示薩拉懷的是雙胞胎。

Which was just as well, because at the 12-week scan the sonographer detected a third heart-beat and informed Sarah and Benn that they were expecting triplets.
12周的掃描檢查中，超聲波檢測(cè)到了另一個(gè)胎心，于是醫(yī)生通知薩拉和本他們將要有三胞胎了。

The couple have never regretted that decision, but Sarah admits her pregnancy was both physically and emotionally arduous, filled with anguish and fear for the future and guilt over how little time she could devote to baby Freddie.
薩拉和本從來(lái)都沒(méi)有后悔過(guò)將三胞胎生下來(lái)，但薩拉承認(rèn)懷三胞胎確實(shí)讓她承受了生理上和感情上的痛苦，也讓她對(duì)未來(lái)有很多擔(dān)心，同時(shí)伴隨她的還有不能常常陪在弗萊迪身邊的內(nèi)疚感。

With four such young children, Sarah plans to put her career on hold until they are older, while Benn is hoping to transfer to a new role closer to home. Even so, it is a struggle surviving on one salary — half of which goes on their ￡888-a-month rent.
家里有四個(gè)寶寶，讓薩拉決定暫時(shí)拋開(kāi)事業(yè)，直到孩子們長(zhǎng)大些再說(shuō)。而本也希望能換一個(gè)離家近的工作。盡管如此，這個(gè)大家庭緊靠一份工資生活確實(shí)很緊張，況且工資的一半還得用來(lái)交每個(gè)月888英鎊的房租。

Sarah says: ‘We just have to budget and forget about luxuries. We bulk-buy nappies and formula milk so we never run out and just manage the best we can.
薩拉說(shuō)：“我們得精打細(xì)算過(guò)日子，不會(huì)再買(mǎi)任何奢侈品。我們成批購(gòu)買(mǎi)尿片和配方奶粉，這樣可以省些錢(qián)，總之，我們會(huì)盡我們所能的?！?/div>

‘We feel incredibly lucky, and just can’t imagine life without them.’
“有這四個(gè)孩子我們感到非常幸運(yùn)，現(xiàn)在我們根本無(wú)法想象沒(méi)有他們的生活?！?/div>

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