A Bolton twin claims her to have a telepathic-like bond with her sister so strong she even FELT her going into labour with her first child.
Mother-of-one Leanne Humphreys, 20, began to feel unexplained stomach cramps at home – just as pregnant Vickii’s waters were about to break.
Suddenly Vickii complained of labour pains and the following morning daughter Ava-Jai was born in a homebirth.
When Leanne and Vickii, from Bolton, Greater Manchester, both fell pregnant within six months of each other they left family members and friends amazed.
The duo live together with their parents, Julie and Gary Humphreys, who have always treasured their daughters as ‘miracle babies’ after they were conceived through IVF.
As Vickii’s due date drew closer Leanne did everything to prepare her sister for her imminent child-birth.
LEANNE HUMPHREYS: Little Harry is growing up fast ( © Cavendish Press)
Then on Sunday December 1, the twins’ closeness became clearer than ever when Leanne felt Vickii go into labour.
Leanne said: “Vickii was three days overdue and we were sat in the living room together watching TV.
“Suddenly I had the most horrendous pain ripping through my stomach. I told Vickii I was feeling ill and two minutes later she got up and hobbled into the bathroom.
“I sat on my own rubbing my belly and Vickii shouted me and asked me to go upstairs. I went into the bathroom and her waters had broken. I couldn’t believe it. It was like I had felt her labour pains.
“I continued to have the stomach pains while Vickii was in labour and nothing could seem to get rid of them. It’s as though I was sharing the labour with her. It just shows how connected we are.”
Leanne said it isn’t the first time the pair have felt the true extent of their special bond. Leanne said: ”Once I was at work and I had an awful headache so I got sent home.
“When I got home Vickii was already there and when I asked what she was doing she said she had been sent home with a headache too. It was weird.”
Leanne said she told her sister she was pregnant as soon as she found out in September 2012.
Leanne’s son Harry was born in April 2013, but just three weeks before he was born Vickii announced she was expecting too.
She said: “She was a great auntie from the start and was there for me all the way through my pregnancy.”
PEAS IN A POD: Twins hope their children grow up to be best freinds ( © Cavendish Press)
Leanne said she was surprised to learn that her sister was expecting when she was deep into her pregnancy.
She said: “I was eight months pregnant when Vickii told me she was expecting. I couldn’t believe it.
“We have always done everything together and it felt so special that both our babies would be born in the same year.”
Leanne helped coach Vickii through her pregnancy and Vickii witnessed and experienced new-motherhood by being there for Leanne.
Leanne said: “By the time Vickii was at the end of her pregnancy I think she was well-equipped.
“She had been there to help me feed and change Harry so she knew exactly what it was going to be like when it was her turn.”
Like most twins, Leanne and Vickii are like two peas in a pod and as children they dressed in matching outfits and told each other all of their secrets.
Leanne said: “We have always been close. When we were younger we were inseparable and things are exactly the same now.
VICKII HUMPREYS: Proud mum holds her new-born daughter Ava-Jai ( © Cavendish Press)
Now the twins have vowed to bring the babies up to be just as close as they are.
Vickii said: “Ava and Harry are definitely going to grow up to be best friends as well as cousins.
“We really want them to go to the same school when they are older and we will definitely be having family holidays and days out together.
“I think it’s amazing that Leanne had labour sympathy pains for me. We have shared everything else together, so why not this?”
Story and images via Cavendish Press.
