Events like having children, buying a home and dealing with family health issues can sometimes require all the peace of mind and fortitude one can muster. And one Freehold family has had to do all those things multiple times within the last nine months while the pandemic raged on.

Danielle and Jeff Croasdale have had a wild year – even by 2020 standards – by having three babies in nine months, while also closing on a new home, moving in with family between closings and a high-risk pregnancy.

It started in February just before the pandemic hit, with the birth of the couple’s first son Vincent. The family was settling into their two-bedroom condo when the lockdown began throwing their first months as parents into turmoil.

“They say with a newborn you shouldn’t leave the house for six weeks. So basically, at the end of the six weeks, I was ready to go show everybody my baby. And the world shut down,” Danielle says.

And then Danielle found out that she was pregnant once again.

“I had my eight-week appointment at the OB and then she found two babies,” Danielle says.

The family learned that the pregnancy was high-risk.

“My case is like even less than 1 in 250,000,” Danielle says.

The twins were delivered 12 days ago, more than two months premature, by a possibly lifesaving cesarean section. The babies remain at the neonatal intensive care unit at Jersey Shore University Medical Center and are said to be doing well.

“So, it was like extremely high-risk and so, it’s even more special that they’re doing OK…it’s stressful but great. They’re healthy,” Danielle says.

The family’s saving grace? Having lots of family members who live close by to help.

“It will be even more so important once the boys come home. We’ll need all hands on deck…It’s going to be like a circus in here, but it’ll be fun,” Danielle says.

And to make things even more stressful, Danielle has been studying for her master’s degree. She had her last final exam on Monday.