Some say the joy of holding a newborn can be magical — that as the tiny person looks at the world for the first time, emotions flow from their hiding places and into the heart and mind of the scared, yet happier-than-ever parents.

Well, if that's the result of what one baby could harvest, imagine what three newborn girls could do to their mom and dad, Norman residents Michael "Mike" Crowson, 34, and his wife Stacey Bedgood, 37.

Around 9:11 a.m. July 2 in Oklahoma City, Bedgood gave birth to Julia Claire — 3 lbs, 8 oz — Leah Catherine — 3 lbs, 6 oz — and Sarah Elizabeth — 3 lbs, 14 oz. Julia and Leah are identical twins.

The girls, who were born about a month early, had to spend almost a month in Norman Regional Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. But now, they're in their Norman home, quietly resting in a brightly-painted, three-crib nursery just down the hall from mom, dad and Bedgood's mother, Carla, who has been visiting the family.

"I really wanted girls," Stacey said, laughing at her husband's claim he truly wanted "whatever came."

The three girls, each healthy with 10 fingers and 10 tiny toes, have been home for almost a week now. Though slightly an overdose, the couple now has everything they've been working for since their marriage in December 2000.

"It was the second marriage for both of us, and so we were ready to start a family right away because we were both in our '30s," Stacey said. "We started trying to get pregnant almost right away."

After a few months, Stacey and Mike looked to doctors for help.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, they are one of thousands of couples across the United States looking for medical procedures to have a baby ? procedures researchers say are causing the numbers of multiple births to skyrocket.

The National Center for Health Statistics reported in the past two decades the number of multiple births in the United States dramatically jumped. Between 1980 and 2000, the number of twin births increased by 74 percent, and the number of higher order multiples — triplets or more — increased five-fold. Studies indicate about three percent of babies in this country are born today in sets of two, three or more.

The March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation has called those statistics alarming, saying women who are expecting more than one baby are at increased risk of certain pregnancy complications such as preterm birth, a term referring to birth before 37 weeks of completed pregnancy. Those individuals say babies who are born too early are at serious risk of health problems during the newborn period, as well as lasting disabilities and death.

The good news is women who are pregnant with more than one baby can minimize complications and increase the chances of their babies' healthy birth by finding out about the multiple pregnancy as early as possible.

"We thought it was probably twins," Stacey said. "And then I had an ultrasound and we found out. The doctor said, 'there's one,' and then, 'there's another.' It was very sequential."

She said she discovered the fertility treatments finally had worked just before Christmas by taking a home pregnancy test. Needless to say, she had never been more thrilled about passing a test.

The March of Dimes foundation states previous generations often were surprised by the delivery of twins or multiples. Today, however, most parents learn the news fairly early. An ultrasound examination can detect more than 95 percent of multiples at the beginning of the second trimester.