SHOCK & AWW: Woman gives birth to second set of identical twins

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - A Baton Rouge family is adjusting to life with a second set of identical twins. The rare birth surprised Erin and Jake Credo, but doctors at Woman’s Hospital say it’s not completely unheard of.

Tuesday was a big day for Cooper and Grant Credo, 6. They’d been waiting for months to meet their baby sisters.

“I said, ‘There’s two babies in mommy’s belly,’ and they said, ‘Like us? Two babies like us?’ I mean, for them, it’s normal,” Erin recalled.

Twins, Cooper and Grant Credo, pose with their mom, Erin, while she carries a rare second set... — Twins, Cooper and Grant Credo, pose with their mom, Erin, while she carries a rare second set of identical twins.(Credo family)

But two sets of monochorionic identical twins (sharing one placenta) is not normal.

“The chances of having the same thing happen to you again is probably over a 100,000 chance that one person would have that type of twins,” said Dr. Robert Moore, director of fetal intervention at Woman’s.

With about 8,000 babies born at Woman’s every year, that means it will likely be another 15 years before a family like the Credos wheels out the doors.

“Here we are eight months later and I still can’t believe I’m taking two more babies home,” Erin said.

Allie and Lola were born Sept. 23 at 32 weeks and three days, weighing 4 lbs, 6 oz and 3 lbs, 12 oz, respectively. They spent four weeks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) with only their parents and medical staff by their side. Visitors were not allowed because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Erin and Jake Credo spent four weeks with their twin daughters inside the Woman’s Hospital NICU. — Erin and Jake Credo spent four weeks with their twin daughters inside the Woman’s Hospital NICU.(Credo family)

“It’s been challenging,” Erin said. “I’ve had to go through a lot of this journey leaning on my medical providers from Woman’s Hospital, because they’ve kind of become our family."

”Not all twins are the same, so if you have a really high risk set of twins, it’s important that you have a care provider that knows what to look for to make sure that your babies aren’t getting into any trouble," Dr. Moore explained. “Fortunately for her, she got two successful twins that she gets to take home.”

As the shock slowly wears off, the Credos say they’re looking forward to their next chapter as a healthy, happy family of six.

Twins, Cooper and Grant Credo, meet their twin sisters, Allie and Lola, for the first time... — Twins, Cooper and Grant Credo, meet their twin sisters, Allie and Lola, for the first time outside Woman’s Hospital.(WAFB)

“Now is when the zoo and the fun begins of having two sets of very, very special twins. Round two, here we go. I need to go buy a lottery ticket now,” Erin joked.

The Credos say they had a little help getting pregnant the first time, but this pregnancy was unexpected.

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