An American “ꜰᴀɪɴᴛᴇᴅ” upon learning from his wife that she was pregnant with triplets.

The reaction would not be an ᴇxᴀɢɢᴇʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ even if the couple did not have children yet, but this is not the case for Robert and Nia Tolbert: the two are parents of a 6-year-old boy and a set of 2-year-old twins.

The family of five is preparing to take in another three children next year. Residents of Waldorf, Maryland, Nia discovered their pregnancy in August during a ʀᴏᴜᴛɪɴᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ to the doctor.

When Robert Tolbert got home from work, he found a present waiting on the bed from his wife, Nia, who had just left for a weekend in Florida. The 31-year-old project manager thought it was a FitBit. He was wrong.

Inside the bag was a card that read “Please accept this gift from me and God,” and a printout of an unusually long sᴏɴᴏɢʀᴀᴍ. At first, Robert was confused. Then the dad from Waldorf, Maryland, saw three onesies labeled 1, 2, and 3.

Hours went by and the yoga instructor, 28, couldn’t figure out why she hadn’t heard from her husband. When the phone finally rang, Robert confessed that he had ꜰᴀɪɴᴛᴇᴅ. “I was sʜᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ. I went straight to bed and ᴘᴀssᴇᴅ ᴏᴜᴛ,” acknowledged the father. “We are planning our house. Now it will be balanced, with three girls and three boys.

Now that the family has recovered from the initial sʜᴏᴄᴋ, they are counting down the days until March when they welcome three baby girls.

“We are both excited about this new experience of parenting girls,” Nia said. “Rob is enthused about having his own entourage, as the boys stick to me like glue! I’m curious… How will it change the dynamic of our household? Will it be like it is in the movies? Who’s going to comb all that hair? We know it’s going to be eventful. But we’re leaning on God and Pinterest until we find our flow!”

Doctors put the odds of being 1-2-3 parents (singleton, twins, then triplets) at less than 1 in 1,000. A fundraising page has been set up to help the Tolberts purchase a vehicle that will fit the entire family.