Mother reveals she conceived her ‘twins’ three WEEKS apart in miraculous ‘double pregnancy’

A mother has revealed how her twin sons who were conceived three weeks apart in a rare double pregnancy are such different sizes that strangers don’t believe they’re twins.

Gabriella Christmas, 30, from Bedfordshire, fell pregnant with son Eduardo before she conceived his younger ‘twin’ brother Ezra three weeks later in a rare medical phenomenon known as ‘superfetation’.  

Despite Eduardo developing three weeks ahead of Ezra, both boys arrived healthy on the same day in July 2018.

Eduardo weighed 2lbs 2oz more than his ‘younger’ brother and is still much taller than Ezra, leaving many people struggling to accept that they were born on the same day.  

Gabriella Christmas, 30, from Bedfordshire, fell pregnant with Eduardo before she conceived his younger ‘twin’ brother Ezra three weeks later in a rare medical phenomenon known as ‘superfetation’. One brother developed three weeks ahead of the other and is still bigger  

Eduardo and 4lbs 6oz Ezra were delivered by C-section in July 2018 weighing 6lbs 4oz and 4lbs 6oz respectively, and despite being born three weeks early, the younger twin was perfectly healthy

Eduardo and 4lbs 6oz Ezra were delivered by C-section in July 2018 weighing 6lbs 4oz and 4lbs 6oz respectively, and despite being born three weeks early, the younger twin was perfectly healthy

Gabriella Christmas said there is still such a height difference that her boys don't look like twins

Gabriella Christmas said there is still such a height difference that her boys don’t look like twins

‘They looked different when they were born,’ said Gabriella 

‘My little one, Ezra, was a lot smaller so I had to buy clothes for my twins but in different sizes and his skin hadn’t gone through the process of being less waxy, so he looked like a little old man. There was also length difference and there still is.

‘I’m really fortunate that they were both healthy because there were fears Ezra would have to go into NICU because he was premature and his brother wasn’t but he was a healthy, early baby.’

What is superfetation and how does it occur? 

Normally a pregnant woman’s ovaries stop releasing eggs, making it impossible to conceive.

But in a double pregnancy, or superfetation, ovulation continues and the woman can fall pregnant with a second baby.

Unlike traditional twins – which occur either when a fertilised egg splits into two, or when two eggs are fertilised by two sperm at the same time – superfetation leads to a woman being pregnant with an additional foetus that’s younger than the existing pregnancy. 

However these babies are born on the same day.  

The siblings, now two, are considered twins because they were born on the same day but are not medically twins because they are the result of two separate pregnancies that happened at the same time. 

Single mother Gabriella learned about superfetation, which occurs in just 0.3 per cent of women, at her five week scan when what appeared to be a shadow turned out to be another baby. 

She said: ‘I went for an early scan at about five weeks because I thought I was losing the baby.

‘I had an internal ultrasound because it as so early. They said there was a baby and a shadow which could have possible been another baby but they didn’t know for sure because it was a lot smaller.

‘At the 12-week scan, the doctors were worried because one was so much bigger than the other and they thought that was because the babies were sharing a placenta. 

‘We went to a neonatal expert who said there were two placentas and two completely different pregnancies.

‘The second baby was three weeks behind in his development because he was three weeks younger. 

‘So Ezra consistently grew three weeks behind Eduardo during the pregnancies. Even though he was younger, Ezra was the stronger of the two and he was the one I could feel moving.

‘I just didn’t know it was possible to get pregnant while pregnant and I think that it’s important for women to know that it is possible for that to happen.’

The siblings, pictured shortly after birth, are considered twins because they were born on the same day but, according to their mother, was two separate pregnancies that happened at the same time

The siblings, pictured shortly after birth, are considered twins because they were born on the same day but, according to their mother, was two separate pregnancies that happened at the same time

Single mum Gabriella learned of the condition, which occurs in just 0.3 per cent of women, at her five week scan when what appeared to be a shadow turned out to be another baby. Pictured, Ezra and Eduardo as newborns

Single mum Gabriella learned of the condition, which occurs in just 0.3 per cent of women, at her five week scan when what appeared to be a shadow turned out to be another baby. Pictured, Ezra and Eduardo as newborns 

Eduardo and 4lbs 6oz Ezra were delivered by C-section in July 2018 weighing 6lbs 4oz and 4lbs 6oz respectively, and despite being born three weeks early, the younger twin was perfectly healthy.

‘They are twins because they were born on the same day and have the same genetic parents but it was two separate pregnancies that happened at the same time,’ explained Gabriella.

‘It was really hard to get our heads around the fact that I’d fallen pregnant while I was already pregnant.’ 

Gabriella said of her two boys: 'They are absolutely twin brothers because they have that bond but they couldn't be more different, they're like chalk and cheese'

Gabriella said of her two boys: ‘They are absolutely twin brothers because they have that bond but they couldn’t be more different, they’re like chalk and cheese’ 

Gabriella admits that people still don’t believe that the brothers are twins because of their size difference.

She said: ‘They still look different now and people don’t believe they’re twins. They are absolutely twin brothers because they have that bond but they couldn’t be more different, they’re like chalk and cheese.

‘Eduardo is really calm and creative and Ezra is boisterous and loves to trash everything.’