Sisters with Due Dates 3 Weeks Apart Give Birth to Daughters on Same Day | "It Was a Real Race"

A pair of sisters unexpectedly welcomed their daughters on the same exact day. Kerry Player and Jennifer Mercado, of Cape May County, New Jersey, were supposed to deliver their babies three weeks apart but wound up in labor around the same time, reports CBS News. "I was due September 26, I was past due," the younger sister, Kerry said. Jennifer was induced early due to elevated blood pressure. "I immediately texted and said I'm having the first baby," Jennifer said. 

The sisters even ended up in rooms next to each other after arriving at AtlanticCare's Center for Childbirth in Pomona. Both hoped they would be the first to give birth in a friendly sibling rivalry. "The midwife stopped in my room to say, 'Think your sister is going to be ready before you?' and my nurse was like, 'You better check her, I don't think so,'" Jennifer told the outlet. So who finally "won?" At 4:15 a.m., Jennifer welcomed her daughter, Sophia Rose. Seven hours later Kerry's daughter, Karsyn Grace, arrived. The babies left with their moms together; they are the family's 12th and 13th grandchildren. The cousins share the same birthday: October 2nd. Jennifer said, "It was a real race for a while," and later quipped, "If I hadn't won I would have said there was no competition, but since I came in first the competition was there." 

 
 
In a similar story, identical twin sisters Jill Justiniani and Erin Cheplak gave birth to baby boys on the same day at the same hospital. And just like this tale... just hours apart! The California sisters told Good Morning America that their sons, named Oliver and Silas, were also born with the exact same measurements. The babies both weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces, and measured 20 inches at birth. "The twinning continues," Cheplak, 30, told GMA. "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," Justiniani shared. "We've just been so close and so inseparable, it made complete sense in a very odd way."

The twin moms also share the same profession: they both work as pediatric occupational therapists. "I think that’s another thing that naturally brought us closer together," Cheplak said. "I think God had the perfect plan of Jill and I being identical twins and really leaning on each other."

 
References:

https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/cape-may-county-sisters-end-up-giving-birth-to-daughters-on-same-day/

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

Cover Image Source: YouTube | CBS Philly