Eliza Ward has taken to social media to share an insight into being a mum of two daughters who just happened to be born six months apart, after struggling with infertility for several years
Eliza Ward, a mum of two, has gone viral after sharing her unique experience of having daughters born just six months apart on social media.
Siblings with small age gaps aren’t unusual, as the Office for National Statistics reports the average spacing between UK siblings is slightly over two years, down three months from the 90s average.
Still, some parents opt to bring children into the world closer together so they’ll be close in age, since it’s possible for a female to get pregnant again within weeks of giving birth. Now, one mum’s shared the extraordinary tale of how she and her hubby ended up welcoming with two babies into their family within six months.
In a video that has been watched by more than 16.8 million Instagram viewers, Eliza’s daughters Nora and Adaline are seen chilling side by side, each with signs showing their ages of three and nine months, respectively.
“Forever going to be explaining this age gap and the story will never get old,” quipped Eliza in the video’s text overlay. In the caption, she alluded to the curious glances they get: “Not quite close enough in size to pass as twins yet, but close enough for a serious double take in the grocery store. I’ll never get sick of sharing about our miracles so Target check out lady, keep on asking!”,
So, how did the two daughters end up being born so close together?
In a heartfelt Instagram post, Eliza shared the touching story of her and her husband Trent’s struggle with infertility. After numerous unsuccessful treatments, her twin sister Emma offered to carry their last embryo as a surrogate.
Eliza expressed her gratitude on the social media platform, saying: “She often claims it was as simple as going to the grocery store for me and the fact that she says that tells you just the kind of person she is.”
The twist in their tale came when Eliza discovered her own pregnancy while Emma was six months along with the surrogate baby.
Overwhelmed by the news, Eliza shared a video capturing her shock: “Finding out we’re miraculously pregnant while my sister is carrying our first baby. Shocked is an understatement,” before breaking the news to her twin and the rest of the family.
In May 2023, Emma gave birth to a baby girl named Adaline Emma, honouring the aunt who carried her. Eliza continued to document her own pregnancy journey on Instagram, saying she was loving both the joy and fatigue of caring for a newborn while also being pregnant.
Then, at the end of October 2023, Eliza welcomed their second daughter, Nora Jane, into the world.
Speaking candidly about the difficulties she and Trent faced trying to conceive, Eliza shared: “Infertility is such a complex issue, emotional, and often lonely road. We were pretty private during our struggles (for a number of reasons) and there were some pretty dark times.
“It’s truly an emotion rollercoaster to have moments of so much hope (after a procedure or when my period was a day late) and then have moments of heart crushing disappointment when it failed. Then to pick yourself up and try again.”
Now that the baby sisters are a year old, Eliza reveals they thoroughly enjoy playing together all day, saying in a video: “Although they weren’t in the womb together, I can guarantee these sisters were buddies before they arrived earth side.”
