This was all over the news channels this morning.

Article is from the Ashland Times-Gazette.com. Video at the bottom is from NBC's Today Show.
Grandma's greatest gift / Jacilyn Dalenberg served as surrogate mother to deliver daughter's triplets

Kim and Joe Coseno of Ashland have had their hearts broken repeatedly. It took the arrival of three little girls to mend them.

The Cosenos welcomed biological triplets into their lives Oct. 11 after trying for years to adopt. Kim Coseno's mother, Jacilyn Dalenberg of Mansfield, acted as a surrogate, enabling Kim and Joe Coseno to finally realize their dream of having children together.

"We knew we wanted to raise a family together," Kim Coseno said. "It's just a dream that has been fulfilled now."

Wooster native Kim Coseno had two children -- Brittni Wilkinson and Colin Anderson -- when she met Joe Coseno six years ago. The two married three years ago and have since investigated both private and international adoption to no avail.

Kim Coseno said she and her husband have "such an incredible marriage" and wanted to share their lives with more children.

"We love people in our house," Kim Coseno said. "We love kids in our house. We can't wait to have the house filled up."


Dalenberg volunteered to act as a surrogate after hearing of her daughter's struggles with adoption. Before she even shared the news with the Cosenos, Dalenberg already had visited the doctor's office and been cleared for the procedure.

"I was extremely surprised and kind of shocked," Joe Coseno said. "It didn't even seem like it was possible."

"She's absolutely amazing," Kim Coseno said. "She's an amazing person."

Joe Coseno said Dalenberg's health was their primary concern. He and his wife ensured she had the best team of doctors to monitor her every step of the process.

"We didn't want her jeopardizing herself to help us out," he said.

Through in vitro fertilization, the process to add to the Coseno family began. It took three embryo transfers before doctors called with positive bloodwork levels; the Cosenos were having twins. Nine weeks later, one of the embryos split into a set of identical twins.

Dalenberg carried the triplets without any problems and was expected to carry full term. However, the twins developed twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome -- a disease in which one twin receives the majority of blood because the twins share a placenta -- and had to be delivered 91/2 weeks early.

"It wasn't because of her age that she delivered early," Kim Coseno said. "She was very, very healthy."

The Cosenos named their triplets -- Elizabeth Jacilyn, Carmina Ann and Gabriella Claire -- after family members, all of whom helped through the process.

The triplets each weighed between two and three pounds at birth and have yet to be brought to the Coseno's Ashland home from Hillcrest Hospital in Mayfield Heights. Kim Coseno said her daughters are expected to be home by Thanksgiving.

"We are so happy that they're actually here and healthy and that her mom's doing well," Joe Coseno said. "We just can't wait to get them home."

Joe Coseno is a firefighter for the Ashland Fire Department and Kim Coseno was a nurse. She now plans to stay at home with her children.