Identical twins have revealed they gave birth to their first children on the same day, just hours apart.
The women, named Erin and Jill, opened up about the coincidence, which saw them both give birth to sons at the same hospital on 5 May, during an interview with People.
According to Jill, having a child around the same time her sister did seemed like something that was meant to happen.
“It just feels like it was supposed to be,” Jill said. “It is a little surprising because what are the odds? But it’s like, of course this would happen to us.”
Jill also noted that they had planned to get pregnant around the same time, as Erin said that they always told each other “it would be very fun”. However, they acknowledged that giving birth on the same day was not something that they thought would happen.
Jill was scheduled for a caesarean section at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Anaheim, California on 5 May after her doctors learned that her son, Oliver, was in a breech position. And although Erin’s son, Silas, wasn’t due until 15 May, her water broke on the day that her sister was in the hospital.
“I called my husband, Zach, and I said: ‘Okay, this isn’t a joke. My water just broke. I’m going to need you to come home from work and take me to labour and delivery,” Erin recalled.
“My next phone call was to Jill and I said: ‘Okay, this isn’t a joke, but I’m pretty sure my water just broke.’ Jill’s like: ‘All right. Well, I’ll see you there,’” she added.
Erin arrived at the hospital with her husband, Zach, at 9.30 AM and was in active labour shortly after. As Jill’s procedure was pushed back due to a few other emergency caesarean sections that day, she and her husband, Ian, went to Erin’s room for hours.
“It was the four of us and all being a support system together,” Erin said. “They were there for my strong contractions, I could not have gotten through that without that support.”
On 5 May, Jill’s son was born at 6.39 PM, while Erin’s son was born just hours later at 11.31 PM.
After the births, the sisters learned that Oliver and Silas had another thing in common, as they each weighed seven pounds, three ounces, and measured 20 inches.
“We knew Oliver’s numbers. I was just kind of: “Okay, cool. It’s a pretty big baby,” Zach said. “Then the nurse did Silas’s weight and length. Exactly the same. I said: ‘You got to be kidding me.’ It was just incredible.”
The siblings also revealed that they live five minutes apart from each other in Yorba Linda, California, a closeness that Erin described as “a blessing”.
“Being identical twins, Jill and I know no difference, other than spending all of life’s journeys together,” she said. “It’s an experience that has been amazing and it’s something that Jill and I cherish so much.”
“We’re each other’s best friends and to know that our sons are going to grow up with the opportunity for a similar experience is a huge blessing,” she added. “We’re so grateful for that.”
Growing up, the siblings did everything together, with Jill recalling how she and her sister even had their own language.
“We played together, slept together, ate together,” she explained. “My parents would talk about how we had our own language together. We’d be in our cribs side to side and make these cooing sounds. I’d make a sound and Erin would respond.”
The twins also revealed that, when they were six years old, their sister, Alison, was born with a rare genetic disorder.
According to Jill, as she and Erin “watched [their] parents navigate raising a disabled child,” they learned to “lean on” each other, which ultimately “bonded” them.
“That’s just another really special thing for our sons - they’re going to have a sense of closeness that they can also rely on each other the way that my sister and I did,” Jill said.
The Independent has contacted Erin and Jill for comment.
