Sister act that helped twin, two, to take her f irst steps
TODDLING through the autumn leaves, these are some of the first steps taken by a little girl with Down’s syndrome – thanks to a helping hand from her twin sister.
Freya, who was born with the genetic condition, had been struggling to find her feet and was still shuffling along on her bottom shortly before she turned two in September.
But her twin Caitlyn, who does not have Down’s syndrome, had already started walking and was determined to help her progress.
Over the next few months, Caitlyn gave constant encouragement, holding Freya’s hand and bringing over the baby walker to support her.
And clearly her expertise has paid off. Now, with a little help, Freya is up on both feet as well.
Their mother Laura Guilliatt, 32, said: ‘Caitlyn took it upon herself to help Freya along. It was lovely to watch.
‘She totally mothered her – she still does it now. Thanks to all of Caitlyn’s help and Freya’s determination, Freya actually started walking just before her second birthday.’ Miss Guilliatt and her partner Simon Robinson, 46, had the twins via IVF in 2019 following a fiveyear battle to conceive.
They put in two eggs and – to their amazement – Miss Guilliatt became pregnant with twins.
The payroll administrator, from Gainsborough in Lincolnshire, had a straightforward pregnancy until around 20 weeks when she was told there was extra fluid in Freya’s brain.
At 35 weeks she was sent for an emergency C-section and, three days later, doctors confirmed that Freya had Down’s syndrome. However – in a 14-ina-million chance – Caitlyn did not.
‘I was terrified of all the health implications that I thought would come with Freya having Down’s syndrome,’ said Miss Guilliatt. ‘[But] Freya was just a typical baby like her sister.’
Around 750 babies with Down’s syndrome – a genetic condition caused by an extra chromosome – are born in the UK every year.