Eliza and Ben were ecstatic to welcome their new baby into the world, but things were not as they seemed. After Eliza delivered the infant, she noticed that her body was still growing. Something was deeply wrong, but doctors struggled to figure out what was wrong. Read on to discover what specialists couldn’t…
A New Member of the Family
Eliza, 27, and Ben, 38, could not have been more excited about the birth of their new baby boy. Eliza had a long and difficult pregnancy, so the chance to finally be united with their child meant everything to them. What would come later though, would change each of their lives for good…
Baby Charlie
It took months of planning, preparations, and toy purchases to get everything ready for their baby, who they named Charlie. She was born in January of 2016 and was sure to have a long, happy life ahead of her. At least, that was the plan Ben and Eliza had made for her. But something was going wrong, and Eliza knew it…
Post-Birth
After going through labor, it’s totally normal for new mothers to feel ill or fatigued or even just not good. Still, Eliza knew her discomfort was a different kind of problem, something more than just tiredness or the common cold. She didn’t feel normal, and this was going to come back to bite her. Something was up…
Heads Up
One day, Eliza woke up with a splitting headache, one that she had never experienced before. What could be happening to her? She took medications and drank tons of water, but the ache just didn’t go away. She needed to take some more drastic measures if she was going to feel better for her son...
All In Your Head
All of Eliza’s friends told her that she was just stressed by new motherhood. Even Ben wasn’t completely sold on some mysterious, unnamed head illness. Eliza knew her body though and was sure something was very wrong. She ignored the advice of those around her and decided not to just let this one go…
Testing, Testing…
Eliza had had enough. No pills were working, no meditation calmed her down, and even worse, she was busy being a new mom on top of all of this. She didn’t want her mystery illness to affect her relationship with Charlie, so she tried every test she could take, including a drug store pregnancy test.
No Baby
The pregnancy test came back negative, and while Eliza was happy she wasn’t pregnant again, she was still very confused. If it wasn’t a baby, what was it? She decided to bite the bullet and go see a professional, hoping they wouldn’t just brush it off as a post-pregnancy problem. She needed answers, and fast…
Not Again
She tried one more pregnancy test, just to be extra sure before seeing the specialist. Again, the test confirmed that she was not with child. Still, Eliza was unsure. She felt similar to how she did before pregnancy. Eliza was convinced she knew her body better than science, and it was finally time to find out if she was right…
Doctor Visit
During the breastfeeding stage, it’s not possible for a woman to get pregnant. Her body simply won’t allow it. Still, Eliza noticed changes. Her body was getting bigger every day. She was completely lost. Was it just an unexpected weight gain? Was something wrong in her gut? Could it be some kind of miracle pregnancy?
Science Falsified
Well, it turns out, Eliza had been right all along. Her body really had been undergoing something unusual. It was a pregnancy during breastfeeding! The duo was pregnant again after only being together for a year. They were shocked, but there were more surprises yet to come. If only they had known then…
Double Trouble
The couple was shocked to be welcoming another member to their family, but the twists didn’t stop there. The sonogram of their baby was truly a miracle in more ways than one. Inside Eliza’s belly were not one but two unborn babies! The couple was going to have twins on top of their recent birth to Charlie. What did this mean for them?
Dream Come True
Eliza was certainly perplexed but excited nonetheless. She had always wanted her own opportunity to raise a big family, but her timeline was never fully planned. Turns out the universe made the plan for her. Ben had always said two children were enough, but even he couldn’t say no to such a great gift.
Three's A Crowd
There was another unusual aspect of the couple’s pregnancy. Both Ben and Eliza came from families with sets of fraternal twins, but neither had had an identical duo. Would Eliza give birth to two look alike babies? She’d be buying three sets of baby clothes, strollers, toys, and of course, diapers…
Coming to Terms
Simply put, Eliza was nervous. She was expecting to have one child but was going to end her year with three, all under the age of one! It was a medical miracle, but one that stressed her out. She knew that to be a good mother, she’d have to block out the negative thoughts and just relax…
Telling the Parents
She was getting bigger every second of every day. She knew she had to tell her parents, but she was worried. What if they didn’t think she could handle it? Her father expected that the big news would be a proposal, but he never expected that he’d be a grandfather of three at his age! He was ecstatic for the couple…
A Christmas Gift
It was a beautiful Christmas Eve in 2016 when Jack and Wolf were born. Ben and Eliza were exhausted, but extremely excited. Jack and Wolf wouldn’t have to wait long to meet the real headliner, their big brother Charlie! Things were really changing for this family of two, turned three, turned five…
Big Changes
Eliza and Ben realized their made-for-two lifestyle would have to make some adjustments. The first to go was their family car, which had suddenly become not big enough for the whole team! Out with the old, in with the new, and the new was a Volkswagen family wagon. The van was big enough to hold all of them…
Teaming Up
The most important part of parenting, Ben and Eliza knew, was making sure they could keep themselves together and step up to the plate. They had to be the best version of themselves for their three new children. Would they be able to do that? They weren’t sure, but they knew they needed to make the effort…
Triple the Fun
Eliza and Ben said that having the three children all under the age of one felt a lot like having triplets. Charlie and the twins were technically different ages, but raising them all at once made it hard to tell the difference. Dirty diapers were constant, toys were everywhere, and the parents were exhausted all the time…
Money Talks
Eliza had to take some time away from her job to start raising Jack, Wolf, and little Charlie. She spent her days changing diapers instead of copying files, and that didn’t pay well. How would they keep up with the bills? Even being a mother was difficult, as she was caring for infant twins with another one learning to crawl!
Speaking Her Mind
In order to cope with the strange set of circumstances, Eliza started her own blog about the family. The name of the project is titled Twingenuity and follows her experiences caring for her crew. She thought that maybe she could turn the scary and stressful moments into funny and reflective stories…
Julia Grovenburg
While it was certainly strange that Eliza and Ben had babies so close together, nothing beats Julia Grovenburg’s story. Julia lived in Arkansas with her husband Todd, and the couple was happy to discover they’d be having a baby girl in the fall season. But there was something wrong, and the doctors were perplexed…
Ultrasound Gone Wrong
On the ultrasound, the doctors showed Julia her baby girl, who would later be named Jillian. In the corner though, was a mysterious mass. What could this have been? They needed to do more tests. Though it was unlikely, doctors worried it was a tumor of some kind and might affect the pregnancy. They could never have imagined…
Tiny Baby
After some more testing and ultrasound, doctors came back to Julia with some shocking news. She would be having two children. The small mass was a second child! Julia was happy with the news but concerned about the size of the baby, who was significantly smaller than Jillian. What was wrong with him? The specialists had a weird explanation…
Belated Baby
As it turns out, Julia wasn’t pregnant with twins, she was pregnant twice! She had gotten pregnant while she was already carrying another child! Jillian’s little brother was growing in the womb beside her, but wouldn’t be considered a fraternal or identical twin. They would have separate due dates as well. It was unheard of…
Rare Condition
The concept of having a pregnancy while pregnant was incredibly rare. Only 10 people, including Julia, have ever been recorded as having this unusual pregnancy problem. The size discrepancy, the unusual developments, it was all because of a medical condition none of her doctors ever saw for themselves...
But Is It True?
Some specialists were skeptical of the diagnosis, which is formerly referred to as “superfetation,” as it is so incredibly rare and undocumented. Could this woman really have the condition? Dr. Donnica Moore, president of the Sapphire Women’s Health Group stated: “I would say [it's] extremely rare, but then again, we would never know how often this happens…”
Timing Is Everything
According to Moore, the miracle could have some dire consequences. Depending on how much time is between each conception, the smaller baby could suffer the detrimental effects of premature birth. There’s also a risk for lung development issues. The window for the second conception can be up to 24 days…
Out For Delivery
Thankfully, Julia’s baby was deemed safe for delivery, and the new mother gave birth to little Jillian as well as a baby boy named Hudson. Hudson was determined to be two weeks younger than his older sister. There was one more shocking thing about the new siblings that Julia hadn’t even noticed in her new state of motherhood…
Baby New Year
“If these children were actually born on their due dates, the older child would be born at the end of 2009,” said Dr. Karen Boyle of the Greater Baltimore Medical Center “and the younger child would be born at the beginning of 2010!” A new year, a new mom!