Identical Twins Give Birth to Boys on the Same Day in Same Hospital | ‘The Twinning Continues’

The bond between identical twins Jill Justiniani and Erin Cheplak deepened when they gave birth to their sons on the same day, in the same hospital, just hours apart.

Justiniani gave birth to her son, Oliver, at 6:39 pm local time and just five hours later, at 11:31 pm, Cheplak welcomed her son, Silas. Both the babies were also born with the same measurements, according to Good Morning America, weighing 7 pounds, 3 ounces, and were 20 inches at birth.

"The twinning continues," Cheplak, 30, whose husband, Zach, is a fraternal twin, said.

Cheplak got married to her husband in an intimate ceremony during the pandemic. Almost a year later, in August 2021, they held a larger ceremony when her twin, Justiniani, called to announce her first pregnancy with husband Ian, who she wed in 2019.

"I screamed and woke up my husband," Cheplak said. "It was such an exciting time."

Just two weeks later, Cheplak—who was on her honeymoon in the Maldives—discovered she was pregnant too. "I took the pregnancy test and saw the two lines and it was very faint," Cheplak said. "I was second-guessing, am I seeing what I’m seeing, and I FaceTimed Jill from the Maldives and she was like, ‘Yes, that’s it. That’s it.’"

The sisters were extremely close growing up. In fact, they are also in the same profession as pediatric occupational therapists, which they chose because they grew up with a younger sister with a disability who died nearly 10 years ago. "I think that’s another thing that naturally brought us closer together," Cheplak said. 

Being pregnant together made their bond grow stronger. "Sharing our pregnancy together was really special because we really had the support of each other through every step of the process," Justiniani said. "Even just going through the day-to-day changes of pregnancy, all of the unknowns and the questions and the natural worries that come up, we were constantly able to check in with each other and support each other."

Their husbands had a running joke during their pregnancy that they would also give birth on the same day! But that did not seem possible as Justiniani, who was a week ahead in her pregnancy, was scheduled for a C-section on May 5, while Cheplak was scheduled to be induced on May 15, which was her due date. 

On the morning of Justiniani's due date, Cheplak said she had a weird feeling that she thought was nerves because she was worried for her sister. But soon, she found herself in the same labor and delivery unit in the same hospital as her sister.

"I called my husband and was like, ‘I’m not joking. I think my water just broke,'" Cheplak said. "I called labor and delivery ... and then my next phone call was to Jill and I said, 'Okay, this isn't a joke. I'm pretty sure my water just broke.'"

"Part of me was thinking, 'What are the odds of this? I can’t believe this is happening,' but there was also a sense of calm about it because it was like of course this is happening," said Justiniani. "We’ve just been so close and so inseparable, it made complete sense in a very odd way."

Their recovery happened in rooms across the hall and they were discharged together, two days later. "Our husbands were able to wheel us out at the same time," said Justiniani. "All the nurses were saying, 'Usually it’s one mom with two twin babies, and now it’s twin moms with a baby each.'"

They are now grateful to experience motherhood together as they live only five minutes apart.

Soon, they will also be working moms together. 

"I think God had the perfect plan of Jill and I being identical twins and really leaning on each other," Cheplak said.

References:

https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/family/story/identical-twin-sisters-give-birth-day-hospital-84659302

Cover Image Source: YouTube | Good Morning America