In the nick of time on Thursday, Graham and Katie Cook of Eureka scored three more 2012 tax deductions with the birth of fraternal triplets Prym, Kara and Lioni.

Dr. John Lavin delivered the girls at Kalispell Regional Medical Center through a Caesarean section planned for Katie’s 36th week of pregnancy.

Prym came first at 7:28 a.m., then Kara at 7:29 a.m. and Lioni at 7:30 a.m.

The delivery room was full with eight or nine medical professionals from the Obstetrics Department and its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Department Manager Kelli McMahon Staats said all three girls were healthy babies with no need for the intensive-care unit.

This birth marked a milestone for the department.

“We haven’t had a set of triplets for 20 years,” she said. “Dr. Perry Birky delivered the last ones. The patient didn’t know. She thought she was having twins.”

Graham, 25, and Katie, 23, thought they were having twins after their first ultrasound at about one month. Katie said she was in her fifth month when the ultrasound revealed a third baby, giving the couple the shock of their lives.

“We thought he was joking until he pointed out the three different heads,” Graham said. “That was a real jaw-dropper for myself and my brother who was with me.”

The couple didn’t use fertility drugs or any other interventions to achieve the pregnancy. Graham said the three girls were completely natural.

“There are twins on my side but never any triplets,” she said.

Katie, who grew up in Eureka, said that they decided to have another baby so their 4-year-old daughter Tyrone would have a playmate. She wanted to cap the children at two but other forces favored her husband’s desires.

Graham said he moved with his parents and brother from Missouri to Fortine when he was 10. He missed the large extended family he left behind and wanted to create one of his own.

“I wanted four little ones,” he said with a laugh.

Triplet shock and awe spread to their parents and in-laws Rich and Robin Cook of Fortine and Tracy and Twila Webb of Eureka. Soon, the whole community was buzzing about the coming bump in the population of the small town.

A diaper drive was organized that netted a full closet of 700 diapers.

Outfits arrived in triplicate as Katie and Graham devised a battle plan to handle the coming baby invasion. Their shopping list was endless as they checked off three car seats, three swings, three cribs and so much more.

To hold the mountain of diapers, equipment and four children, they rented a five-bedroom, two-bath house. The couple car shopped a second time, adding a minivan to the Subaru that they had acquired when they expected twins.

“My boss helped me with the minivan,” Graham said.

He works as an Internet professional for Media Management Associates where he said he makes enough to pay the bills since Katie will no longer teach dancing and work on the wait staff at Four Corners Restaurant and Casino.

He has faith that his future looks bright with this company that serves businesses around the country as well as in Eureka.

“We’re doing well and the company expects to do even better,” he said.

As the months of pregnancy passed, Katie grew larger and larger. She said she was showing by three or four months but had no sickness or problems.

“This went way better than the first one,” Katie said.

She kept to a low-sodium diet of healthy food such as yogurt and granola. Three weeks before her scheduled Caesarean section, Katie moved into an apartment provided by the hospital.

Lavin, a specialist in high-risk as well as normal births, wanted her closer than Eureka in case she went into labor.

“She came in twice a week for monitoring,” McMahon-Staats said. “She never had any problems.”

Katie was relieved to make it all the way to 36 weeks, the prime age for a healthy birth. She spent Christmas filled with anticipation and quite a bit of anxiety over the delivery planned for Dec. 27.

“I was scared. I had never had a C-section before,” she said. “It went really well.”

She was numbed for the surgery but remained awake to see their newborn girls arrive healthy and active. It was over very quickly and efficiently.

McMahon-Staats agreed that things could not have gone more smoothly.

“We were very well prepared and really excited to be able to offer this,” she said. “A lot of people don’t realized that we have a level three NICU. We also offer so much for low risk.”

After the first of the year, the Obstetrics Department at Kalispell Regional will introduce more “home-style” birth options.

Katie and Graham looked very much at home in their room with a double bed with Prym, Kara and Lioni lying in a crib at the end.

“We’ve had them with us ever since they came out,” Katie said.

Graham makes trips back and forth with babies for Katie to hold or breast feed, augmented by formula as needed. At birth, Kara was the largest at 6 pounds, 2 ounces followed by Prym at 5 pounds, 10 ounces. Little Lioni, born last, was the smallest at 4 pounds, 13 ounces.

After just one day with the triplets, the couple said each baby has a distinctive personality.

“Prym is calm, always sleeping. Kara is always moving, even in sleep,” she said with a laugh. “She reaches over and smacks Lioni. Lioni likes to be held and taken care of a lot.”

The couple couldn’t be happier that their girls exhibit marked differences. Except for the matching outfits they were given for the infants, they don’t intend to dress them alike as they grow up.

“We want to keep them as individual as possible,” Graham said.

Graham and Katie bought a dry-erase board to map out feedings and all other details of care. Katie said they both like to organize and they work well as a team.

She said it’s going to be a great experience and Graham agreed.

“It’s going to be an adventure that not many people get to experience,” he said.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.