Having a twin as a sibling can be a special relationship, and many sets of twins feel as though they have had a partner since before being born. There are two types of twins: identical and fraternal. Identical twins are the result of one fertilized egg that splits into two, while fraternal twins result when two separate eggs are fertilized. Essentially, fraternal twins are just two siblings born on the same day, while identical twins share their DNA, even though they will have genetic differences as they develop in the womb according to Endocrine Web.
When it comes to social relationships, some identical twins prefer to develop an identity that is wholly away from their role as a twin, while other sets of twins embrace their twin-ness much more. For example. there is a specific festival for twins in Ohio every year where twins can meet others called the “Twins Days Festival.” Moreover, there are many stories of identical twin sisters marrying identical twin brothers and even living together and raising their children!
Needless to say, many sets of twins have a strong bond. This was the case for Jalynne Crawford and Janelle Leopoldo, both of whom had struggled with infertility the previous year. They were 30 years old in 2018, and to their surprise, they found out that they were pregnant at the same time. After going through a difficult year, they felt like their prayers had finally been answered and went through the magic of pregnancy together. The sisters even chose to give birth on the same day!
“Growing up, my twin sister and I talked about how neat it would be to get married together and have babies together,” Jalynne told Good Morning America. “Well, the marriage part did not work out, but the baby thing sure did! I don’t think I ever imagined how special it would be until the journey began.”
Jalynne is married to Michael Crawford, who plays for the San Francisco Giants and the couple lived in Arizona, while Janelle is married to Jason Sergio Leopoldo and lived in California according to PEOPLE. Both sisters had been suffering from infertility before they got pregnant; Jalynne was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, while Janelle had faced two miscarriages previously. However, Janelle had one other child, and Jalynne had three.
While struggling with their infertility, the sisters also went through a major tragedy: their sister Jennifer had passed away the year before due to asthma, and the two were still recovering from this loss. “We said Jennifer [their sister who passed away] was in heaven and would pick our two babies for us,” Jalynne said.
Their parents were grateful for the news of these pregnancies but had a concern. Since their parents had always been present at the births of their grandchildren, they were worried about being there for the big days this time since the girls lived in separate states, with one in Arizona and one in California. “We knew we wanted to have it on the same date so our parents could be there,” Jalynne told PEOPLE.
Jalynne then spoke with her doctor and wanted to see if it would be possible for her and Janelle to give birth on the same day in the same location.
Since their due dates were so close in range, the doctor said yes. After months of the pregnancy had gone by, Janelle packed up her belongings and headed to Arizona to be with her sister. As the final weeks of both pregnancies passed, the sisters seemed to be having identical pregnancies. “We both made it to 39 weeks and made it to our scheduled delivery day,” Jalynne told PEOPLE.
As for who would be giving birth to their son first, Jalynne said, “Since my husband [professional baseball player Brandon Crawford of the San Francisco Giants] only had a few days of paternity leave, Janelle offered me to go first so we would have a few extra hours with him. Also, I’m two minutes older and I found out I was pregnant four days earlier, so it made sense.”
After their sons were born, the women were given rooms next door to one another. “For the three days we were in the hospital we were in each other’s rooms all the time,” said Crawford. The twins named their sons Bryson Ryder Crawford and Jace Alan Leopoldo. While Janelle said that she was done having children since Bryson was her fourth, Jalynne wanted two more children to complete her family.
“Our family is extremely close and spend a lot of time together, but there is a difference with Jalynne and me. Our husbands joke, ‘If you marry one, you marry the other’ in the sense that we love being together so much and talking so much. We feel when we are apart, there is a piece of us missing. Our kids already feel this bond as well,” Janelle said.