Twins born 2 weeks apart
They may be twins, but this brother and sister pair will always have separate birthdays — two weeks apart and under different presidential administrations.
LaTroya Woolridge knew something was wrong when she began to experience excruciating pain in her 24th week of pregnancy.
“I began to have intense labor pains," Woolridge told Inside Edition. "Even though it was my first pregnancy, I knew the pain was not normal. I drove myself to the hospital. I was vomiting."
They immediately called in her doctor, who told Woolridge she was in active labor.
She had two options. She could deliver both babies via C-section or she could deliver the first naturally and wait to see what would happen with the second.
Woolridge decided to deliver naturally. Her daughter Amara was born on January 17 at just 1 pound and 3 ounces.
"When I was told Amara's heartbeat [in the womb] could not be detected, I feared she would be stillborn. Once I delivered her and saw her feet moving, I was relieved, but I feared what was ahead for her," Woolridge said.
Doctors wanted to keep Amara’s brother, Arthur, in the womb as long as possible to allow him to grow.
Woolridge was on strict hospital bed rest and was only able to go see Amara twice a day for 15 minutes.
"It was extremely difficult to watch our baby girl literally fight for her life," Woolridge said. "Arthur (her husband) would push me over to the NICU in a wheelchair and I was able to look at Amara. It gave me the strength to continue resting so Arthur (her baby) would have a better chance of survival."
Two weeks passed, and then Wooldridge developed a fever.
Doctors performed a C-section to prevent any complications, and little Arthur was born exactly 14 days after his twin sister on January 31, weighing 2 pounds and 2 ounces,
In photos shared this week by Caters News, the twins are clearly thriving.
Arthur is completely off oxygen assistance and weighs 6 pounds and 11 ounces. Baby Amara is being weaned off oxygen assistance and now weighs 5 pounds and 6 ounces.
"Once Arthur was born, it became apparent how important the two additional weeks in the womb were for his overall health,” Wooldridge said. "We are hoping to have them home in the next few weeks."
Woolridge said she never imagined her twins would have separate birthdays.
“I didn’t even know that was possible," she said. "I have heard of twins being born on different days because they were a few minutes apart, but I had no idea that it was possible for twins to be born with a significantly different date of birth."
The mom said they will be celebrating two separate birthdays in the future.