They have shared a birthday for the past 29 years and now twin sisters Sarah Brown and Claire Harkin’s children will too.
The pair were stunned to deliver their babies hours apart on the same day and at the same hospital, in what must be a million-to-one chance. The original arrival dates of their newborns were meant to be 11 days apart – but nature clearly had other ideas for the sisters from Londonderry.
Claire, a teacher, went in to hospital to be induced a week before her sister, but there was nothing that doctors could do to encourage her son, Conor to make his arrival.
Eventually they had to deliver him by emergency caesarean – just hours after Sarah, a technical officer for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, had given birth to her daughter, Kate.
Sarah said: ‘All the doctors and midwives were shocked, they had never seen anything like it before.
‘We joke that Conor refused to be born just so he could be delivered on the same day as his cousin.’
The twins have always been incredibly close growing up, and then met and married best friends Jonathan and Paul, who grew up on the same street as each other.
‘I met Jon in 2014 while on a night out,’ said Sarah. ‘Claire came out with us a few times and met his best friend Paul, but they were both in relationships at the time. Eventually they got together four years ago and we both got married just weeks apart. Jon and I were married first in April last year and then Claire and Paul in July.’
A few months later, Claire discovered she was pregnant. Sarah said: ‘Claire told me she was pregnant and I was thrilled for her. And then a few days later I found I was pregnant too. We couldn’t believe it, we had always wanted to be pregnant at the same time and now it had happened.’
Despite the twins originally being due to give birth 11 days apart – Claire first, followed by Sarah – Claire’s due date came and went.
Sarah said: ‘The doctors tried everything to deliver Conor. They broke Claire’s waters, but nothing happened. He wasn’t budging.’
Sarah went in to Altnagelvin Hospital in Londonderry with husband Jon, 32, a factory supervisor, and doctors delivered baby Kate at 11.30am on April 24, weighing a healthy 8lb 9oz.
They then decided to give Claire an emergency caesarean a few hours later, as the longer she went overdue the more risk there was to her and the baby.
They delivered baby Conor, weighing 9lb 11oz, just hours later at 10.30pm.
Sarah said: ‘We couldn’t believe it. We had never expected them to be born on the same day.
‘Our parents became grandparents twice on the same day. They were over the moon!’
And the babies are soon going to be having joint birthday celebrations – just like their mums.
‘We’ve always done everything together,’ said Sarah, ‘But to have babies on the same day was crazy.’
Mmmmmh I see