She was 11 days old, smaller than anyone expected, and already fighting the biggest fight of her life. When fans first met the Derrico triplets, they did not meet three ordinary babies. They met three miracles who arrived at just 28 weeks, and one tiny girl whose heart needed fixing before she could even go home.
Seven years later, Dawsyn, De’Aren and Dyver Derrico are no longer the babies in the incubators. They are school-age kids, and the question splitting the fandom now is not about how they survived. It is about how much of their growing up the cameras should show next.
Born at 28 Weeks, Straight Into the NICU
The triplets were born on July 6, 2019, via C-section, after Karen Derrico went into premature labor, reportedly induced by an earthquake. Two girls, Dawsyn and De’Aren, and one boy, Dyver, arrived far earlier than planned, and all three spent time in the NICU.
Karen was discharged about a week after giving birth, but she had to leave her babies behind. It is the image fans remember: a mother going home with empty arms while her triplets learned to breathe and feed on their own in the NICU.
Two Heart Surgeries for Awesome Dawsyn
Shortly after birth, doctors found that Dawsyn had been born with a ventricular septal defect, known as VSD: a hole in her heart. Karen said it plainly on camera: she was freaked out because her baby girl was going to need open heart surgery.
Dawsyn ended up needing two surgeries. The first placed a stent as a temporary fix. The second repaired the hole itself. Between hospital stays, medications and special feedings, Dawsyn spent more than seven months in and out of hospital care before she was home for good.
YOU MAY LIKE“We’re Filming Right Now” — Deon Derrico Confirms the Derricos’ TV Return Is ComingIt was Karen who gave her the name fans still use today. Visiting her babies in the NICU, she called her heart baby Awesome Dawsyn, and the nickname stuck. There was even a helmet chapter: after months lying on her back recovering, Dawsyn developed a flat spot on her head, and the family fitted her with a custom heart-decorated helmet.
The Golden Birthday: Six on 7/6
Then, in July 2025, came the post that stopped the fandom mid-scroll. Karen shared photos of the triplets in matching white outfits with birthday hats, celebrating their sixth birthday on July 6: a golden birthday, six on the sixth.
Her caption: Happy 6th birthday to our babies, she wrote. We just can not believe they are 6. Seems like just yesterday that I was in the OR waiting for their cry.
Seven Now, and the Big Question for the New Season
The triplets turned seven in July 2026. Deon has said, according to reports, that the family is filming again, with a new season targeted for 2027, though no network, title or date has been confirmed. If those cameras roll, the triplets will not be babies anymore. They will be seven-year-olds with school and lives of their own.
One side says the triplets are the heart of this family, and viewers who prayed for Dawsyn in the NICU have earned the right to see her thrive. The other side says seven is old enough to deserve privacy, and the littlest Derricos should grow up without a camera in their classroom.
So here is the debate, and it is a real one. When the Derricos return to television, should Dawsyn, De’Aren and Dyver be front and center again, or is it time to let the littlest fighters just be kids? Pick a side, and tell us why.
