Lyndsey Altice, 30, and hubby Wesley, 33, from Wisconsin in the US, were delighted when they found out they were having a baby, a girl this time, their first child had been a boy. The pregnancy went pretty normally and there was no indication that she was carrying more than one baby.
But on the day of the birth of their daughter, the couple found that they had a bonus stowaway, and remarkably, photos captured the moment that it happened.
Lyndsey can be seen sitting open-mouthed in shock in a birthing pool as the midwife hands her a second baby just two minutes after she gave birth to her first.
“I was immediately suspicious when Ada came out so small, I had put on double the weight I did with my last birth so I didn't understand how she could be so tiny.
"When I had my son Django a few years previous, he was nine pounds, and I put on less weight with him so it was really odd."
Lyndsey recalls the moment her second baby arrived.
“There are no words to describe what I was thinking when I realised I was about to have another baby right there and then.
“The next contraction was almost instant, I knew before the nurses started saying what they thought it was, I could feel the baby coming but could not communicate it through the contraction.
“The nurse thought it was the water sack which she hadn’t seen happen before so we were all a bit confused.
“Then I felt it happening but I couldn’t get the words out, I knew a second baby was coming and then two minutes later there she was.
“The whole room went crazy, everyone was having conversations with each other, my husband was in shock, my sister was taking pictures and I don’t think any of us had a clue how to feel.
“I was in pure shock too, I had a million thoughts that I couldn’t process because I was completely overwhelmed so I just submitted to the moment, I think my face says it all.
“I must have set a world record for how many times someone can scream 'oh my god' in 10 minutes."
But, how?
It is a question that must be asked, how do you get to full term without realising you're carrying to babies?
Lyndsey says that she didn't get many ultrasounds during the pregnancy.
“I found a midwife when we knew I was pregnant and through the whole pregnancy everything was just like when I had my son, I measured my fundal height which always matched what it would be for having one baby for each week I measured.
“I wasn’t doing ultrasound because I wasn't a high risk so unless I needed too, if I felt something was wrong for example."
But she said when she did have one, only one baby could be seen.
“When I did have an ultrasound with a sonographer, who did an extensive ultrasound of all four quadrants and it still didn’t show Billie-June.”
Lyndsey even got a recording of her ultrasound, and after having her babies she checked back and still couldn't see a second baby when she knew both babies were there. Lyndsey said: “I think because they were just checking fluid levels and not checking for a second baby, all they saw was that Ada had moved a little.
“I’m sure if they were looking for two babies, they would have found two.
“When I went into labour they hooked me up to the baby monitor and there was only a reading of one heartbeat.”
A surprise, but a happy one
Now, with the twins coming up to their first birthday, Lyndsey feels ready to share what happened and explains it was one of the biggest, and best surprises she has ever had.
She said: “When it first happened we were just having a total 'oh crap' moment, but now that we have settled and we know how to look after twins we just love it.
“It’s a total blessing in disguise, and the kids themselves are great, my son Django adores them and they all get on so well.
“I love looking back at the photographs because I think they show exactly how I was feeling, there’s no hiding how I felt.
“I was a little worried about sharing the pictures because it’s such an intimate moment, but I’m thrilled we have them, I look at them all the time.
“I’ll show them to the kids when they’re older, but maybe not all of the pictures.”
