Twin babies in the United Kingdom are being called “miracles” after they both survived extremely premature labor at just 25 weeks.
Mother of four Toni Lacey told The Mirror that she was overjoyed to learn she was pregnant with the twins after a miscarriage last July, but in January, a routine ultrasound revealed she was experiencing uterine dehiscence, a rare, life-threatening complication in which the uterine wall tears open. She was hospitalized and just three weeks later, sons Arley and Ayden Bowles were born.
“The doctors were honest with us and warned us that they might not survive, that it was going to be a really long journey and that it was going to be difficult,” Lacey said.
Both boys weighed less than a loaf of bread at birth, with Arley weighing just 1.5 lbs and Ayden 1.6 lbs.
“They were literally tiny. My hand would cover their whole body when they were in the incubators one of their whole hands barely fitted around their dad’s one finger,” Lacey said.
She added, “The doctor was saying how small they were, that their skin was literally like paper. When they were born they had to put them in plastic bags to keep them warm.”
It was several months before the boys were big enough to fit into any outfits.
“They weighed less than a bag of sugar and were about the length of a banana,” said Lacey. “They didn’t fit into any clothes until they were almost three months old and were in three or four-pound [clothes]. They weren’t allowed to wear clothes when they were in the incubators, they were just in muslin cloths.”
Both boys underwent several medical complications in their early days after birth, including a brain bleed, numerous blood transfusions, and necrotizing enterocolitis. They are both still in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), though Lacey said they are doing better and she is looking forward to the day when she can bring them home.
“They’re my miracle babies, and my rainbow babies because I had them after my miscarriage,” she said.
“I’d tell other mums with premature babies that may be struggling to always look at the positives and to look forward [to] what you’ve got to look forward to.”
