Meet this mum’s one in a trillion twins
Louise Johnson reveals what makes her gorgeous twin boys extra special
As she lovingly gazed down at her newborn twin boys, Louise Johnson noticed 2.4kg Jacob’s eyes were more of an almond shape than those of 2.09kg Thomas.
‘As twins, I had expected them to look the same,’ explains 34-year-old Louise.
Against the odds of one in a trillion, tests revealed Jacob had been born with Down syndrome, while his fraternal twin brother Thomas had not.
A doctor explained because they came from two separate eggs, older brother Thomas remained unaffected.
While it was a shock, single mum Louise – who already had children Anthony, 11, Leah, 10, and Bradley, eight – was stunned when a doctor asked if she still wanted to take Jacob home.
‘It would never cross my mind to disown one of my twins just because he had been born different,’ the Shropshirebased mum recalls.
But despite their differences, the twins share a unique bond – crying for each other and only settling when together.
Thomas was expected to develop much more quickly than Jacob, but it was Jacob who slept through the night first, started solids before his twin, and even sat up first, just one day after his first birthday.
‘I knew then he would be OK,’ Louise says. ‘The way I saw it, both my boys were unique. I felt lucky to have them both. As far as our family was concerned, Jacob was extra special because he had an extra chromosome.
‘As the years passed, I did wonder if watching Thomas develop faster than his brother would be hard. But when Thomas started walking, he was desperate for Jacob to join him and encouraged him to use his walker daily until he too was on his feet.
‘Whatever Thomas did, he encouraged his brother Jacob to do too because their unique bond meant they always wanted to be together.
‘If Jacob was unwell, Thomas would cuddle up on the sofa, and when he got upset because he did not understand, Thomas would calm him.’
Now both five years old, Jacob attends a school with other children who have Down syndrome, while Thomas goes to a mainstream primary.
‘Jacob has an incredible bond with his twin and his other siblings... who wouldn’t want a son like that?’ asks the UK mum, who has since met her partner Craig and had another little boy, Riley, two – who doesn’t have Down syndrome.
NI