Twin Sisters Give Birth To Two Baby Boys Just Hours Apart

May 20, 2022 by apost team

Erin Cheplak and Jill Justiniani, 30-year-old identical twins from California, gave birth to baby boys on the same day: May 5, 2022. Despite one sister being scheduled for a C-section, the twins ended up tripping some cosmic wires that sent the second sister into labor just hours before the surgery was scheduled. 

As twins, Cheplak and Justiniani were used to sharing lives. They both had a passion for kinesiology, which they studied at California State University, Dominguez Hills, receiving master's degrees in occupational therapy. The two went on to share not only a profession as pediatric occupational therapists but also an office at the same outpatient clinic where their desks aren't far apart. They're even known for bringing each other lunch. 

In their personal lives, Cheplak and Justiniani married only a year apart and became unintentionally pregnant around the same time. The joke then became that they would, of course, give birth on the same day. However, given that Justiniani's baby was in breech and his birth would need to be scheduled with an operating team, it seemed unlikely. 

Still, the twins were able to revel in their pregnancies, knowing they not only had the other's support but also shared their condition. On learning that her sister was simultaneously pregnant, Justiniani said, "That was the beginning of this path of feeling like this is pretty wild, but also totally meant to happen." Cheplak agreed, adding, "We were crying on the phone together." She continued, "I just had this feeling that it was going to work out, that we were both going to be pregnant." Little did the sisters know that they would share so much more than just a baby bump. 

During a gender reveal party in November, the twins then learned that their babies would match even more than they already did. Justiniani, recalling the party, said, "We were hopeful that we would have the same gender, but we really were unsure." Then the two popped large black "oh baby!" balloons and were both showered in blue. "We were both like 'here we go.'" Justiniani remarked. 

Months later, Justiniani was scheduled for her C-section at Kaiser Permanente hospital. Her husband, Ian, was on deck to offer support. Then back at home, her sister started feeling pain. "I just thought it was nerves because I knew that Jill was going in for her C-section. I spoke with the nurse and she said, 'oh, sweetie, it sounds like your water broke.' The next phone call was to Jill, and I said, 'okay, this isn't a joke.'" She recalled. 

Just down the hall from her sister, Justiniani gave birth to her son Oliver at 6:39 PM. Cheplak followed a few hours later, delivering Silas at 11:31 PM. "It was like a movie," Cheplak recalled. One of the hospital's obstetrician­-gynecologists, Alice Lau, heard about the births as news spread. "It made my day, my week, and my year...This is such fantastic news, and it reminds us that miracles still happen." She remarked.

Although the boys aren't exactly twins, they do share a birthday and their mothers are exciting for the "twinning" to continue. "We're just so excited that they are going to be able to have a similar experience to us, and go through all of life's journeys together," Cheplak exclaimed. 

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