Abby Lancaster and Rachel Timmons have always been close as cousins. Part of the reason is because their dads, Alan Wells and Brian Wells, are identical twins. So it was an exciting surprise for the whole family when the women each gave birth to their first children on the exact same day — June 16.
Both families found out about the other’s pregnancy during a Thanksgiving Zoom call. “We didn’t know Rachel was pregnant and Rachel didn’t know that Abby was pregnant,” Alan told the Fairfax Times.
“She called me and was like, ‘We have some news,’ and I go, ‘You have some news? What’s your news? [She says] ‘Eric and I are pregnant.’ [I said] ‘Stop, I’m pregnant,'” Rachel told WBNS.
In addition to telling each other on the same day, the women learned they were due just two days apart. “I was due June 18, and she was due June 16,” explained Abby.
The Facebook post below shows the two happy grandfathers with their daughters and new granddaughters.
Abby and Rachel, who themselves were born only months apart and later married only months apart, also discovered they were both expecting girls. “Wouldn’t it be crazy if we went into labor on the same day?” Abby recalls saying.
As the due dates grew nearer, it seemed that the likelihood of a double-delivery would be slim, since Rachel was scheduled for a June 15 induction. However, when Abby started experiencing blood pressure spikes, her doctor decided to induce her early — the same day as Rachel.
Though the cousins were miles apart — Abby lives in Reston, Virginia, and Rachel lives in Indianapolis — their hospitals were even getting in on the excitement, with the nurses cheering for their patient to deliver first. Jess Norman, Marketing Director for Reston Hospital Center, noted that in the friendly rivalry, Alan and Brian were texting back and forth “with regular updates on whose daughter is progressing faster in labor and [would] have their baby first.”
In the end, Abby ended up giving birth to daughter Georgia first, with Rachel delivering her daughter Delilah Lynn exactly two hours later. Shockingly, both babies were 20.5 inches long and had a difference of just three ounces in weight.
Norman said the connection between the families was amazing to witness. “There has always been talk that identical twins share a connection, but who knew that would trickle down to their kids.”
