But when twins Katie and Amy both fell pregnant with their first child they couldn’t have dreamed that they’d both give birth on the same day... and within hours of their own 30th birthdays!
Related: Identical twins both give birth on their own birthday - but eight years apart
Katie Bowden was 30 on June 9 and twin sibling Amy Meredith-Davies, who was born the other side of midnight, was 30 on June 10 and both of them gave birth to their first babies on June 10.
In a further stroke of coincidence the revelation about the twins’ pregnancies came about at their father Spencer’s 70th birthday.
Parents' double delight
“We were supposed to be going paintballing as a family but I’d just found out I was pregnant so couldn’t take part,” said Katie, a teacher from Clydach.
“I’d told my mother but my sister had guessed I was pregnant and asked my mother at a family meal revealing that she was too. So within one weekend my parents found out we were both pregnant.”
Related: The 12lb baby so big, midwives thought he'd broken the scales
For the family getting used to things happening at similar time for the twins isn’t that unusual.
Done everything together
“We’ve done everything in our lives at similar times,” said Amy, a health, social care and wellbeing facilitator who lives in Neath.
“Our family are used to it. We got married within a year of each other too.
“Katie got married in June 2012 and I was married in August 2013.”
Related: Baby Princess Charlotte and Prince George's first pictures together
But Katie revealed neither twin had known the other was trying for baby.
“We hadn’t spoken about it. I’d been trying for a few months and because I’ve got polycystic ovaries I’d been to get tested.
“I just can’t get over the fact that we fell pregnant at the same time.”
Anxious time
But, being a twin, double the joy of pregnancy also meant double the anxiety.
Katie said: “Obviously, like any pregnancy, you have the worry before you get to the 12th week and all the other concerns throughout the pregnancy milestones but as well as worrying about your own baby you worry for your twin.
“It was quite an anxious time.”
Due dates were three days apart
Having been given due dates just three days apart the twins expected things to be close but couldn’t have known the coincidence that lay ahead.
“I was given June 5 as my due date and Amy was given June 2,” said Katie.
Babes arrived just hours apart
Katie gave birth to Ella, who weighed 7lbs 6oz, at 5.38am in Singleton Hospital in Swansea while Amy had 8lbs 7oz Henry in Bridgend’s Princess of Wales Hospital at about 11.15pm the same day.
“It was bizarre because I was in labour and had a message from my mother saying Amy was being induced,” said Katie.
'Everyone thought it was amazing'
“But still I thought that would be the next day.
“It was really funny because when my mum came to visit she would tell the midwife that she now had to leave to see my twin who was also having a baby.
“Everyone thought it was amazing.”
Call the midwife!
For Amy making crucial decisions about whether to have an epidural were made easier because of a decision already made by her sister in the hospital 26 miles away.
“My waters had broken the day before and I was being induced which was really painful,” said Amy.
Related: The dad who delivered his own baby son
“I was asked if I wanted an epidural and because I knew Katie was going through the same thing I felt happier about the decision.”
As if the coincidences weren’t enough Katie’s first midwife when she got to Singleton was called Katie – while Amy’s midwife was called Amie.
June's a month of birthdays
“There were lots of odd things like that,” said Amy.
“June is going to be a month of major celebrations in the family as my husband Ollie’s birthday is exactly a week after mine – or ours, I should say.
“I think we’ll have a big celebration next year because we didn’t really do much to celebrate our 30th but we did have the best presents ever!”
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