A set of miracle twins from Washington, Pennsylvania, stun strangers everywhere they go due to their remarkable size difference.
Born 11 weeks early by cesarean section in December 2021, tiny Reagan Lambert weighed just 1 pound while her sister, Mila, weighed 2 pounds and 13 ounces.
“When I saw Reagan, she was so small she could fit in your hand,” their mom, Audrieanna Lambert, 33, told South West News Service.
“I knew she was going to be tiny, but she was still so much smaller than I had imagined.”
Audrieanna added, “Mila was three times the size. But Reagan was fully developed despite how minuscule she was.
”We were finally allowed to hold them when they were five days old. It was magical, but they were so delicate and tiny.”
But the girls had a bit of a rough start, with both taken straight to the natal intensive care unit after delivery.
Mila spent 45 days at West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh before she was well enough to go home, in January 2022.
“It was so lovely to have Mila home but so hard to have to keep traveling back and forth to see her sister and for them not to be together,” Audrieanna said.
Reagan spent her own 118 days in the hospital, battling sepsis and receiving blood transfusions to help her grow. She finally came home in April 2022.
The road to welcoming children was long for Audrieanna and her husband, union laborer Chase, 30. But after years of pregnancy struggles, the couple found themselves expecting in June 2021 after the first round of IVF.
At six weeks, the couple discovered they were expecting twins but were told that one baby — Reagan — was very small and might be lost early in the pregnancy.
At 15 weeks, they were told Reagan had caught up but at Audrieanna’s 20-week scan the tot was falling behind again, measuring 18% smaller than her sister.
“The doctors were not sure if she would make it at that point,” Audrieanna explained.
At 24 weeks, the couple was given the devastating news that Reagan was now 50% smaller and suffering issues with her cord flow.
That’s when they were told that Reagan would pass away within two weeks.
Audrieanna recalled: “They were certain she wouldn’t make it because everything they knew medically told them she wouldn’t. I was devastated.”
But two weeks later, at the 26-week scan, doctors found that Reagan’s heart was still beating, and at 27 weeks Audrieanna was admitted to West Penn Hospital for monitoring.
Regan’s cord flow changed at 29 weeks and the babies were delivered by emergency C-section.
Now 19 months old, the twins are still drastically different sizes but are still hitting their milestones.
Reagan wears three-month-old clothes while Mila is in 12-18 months. Audrieanna says strangers “can’t believe they are twins.”
Reagan is walking and can say 15 words, while Mila is running and has a vocabulary of 60 words.
“She’s pretty awesome,” the proud mom said of Reagan. “Her walking isn’t perfect but she’s very independent.”
“Mila runs everywhere,” she added. “She’s Reagan’s biggest cheerleader.
“If Reagan does something new, Mila’s face lights up.”
The family is delighted that both twins are healthy enough to attend daycare together.
They’re also excited to welcome their third daughter, who is expected in October.
“They kiss my belly.” Audrieanna said of the twins.
“The newborn will probably wear the same clothes as Reagan and outgrow her. We’re so excited.”
Source link
#baby #double #size #twin #sister #strangers