Two PERFECT gifts
Lee-anne Spriggs, 32, from Skipton, was double lucky!
As my due date came and went, everyone was speculating…
‘I wonder if you’ll give birth on your birthday,’ my mum Julie, 56, said.
It was May 2005 and I was ready to pop.
It was my 19th birthday on 11 May, but that was nine days after my due date.
‘Surely I’ll have the baby before then!’ I said. On 9 May, I went into labour. It was slow progress, though. ‘This baby certainly isn’t in any rush,’ a midwife at Airedale Hospital laughed.
Eventually, I was given an epidural and, hours later, on 11 May, I was ready to push. Suddenly, it dawned on me… ‘It’s my birthday!’ I panted. So, as I pushed, Mum and the midwives sang Happy Birthday!
Paige soon arrived, weighing a healthy 8lb.
And, over the years, I made sure our shared birthday was extra special.
I’d get us both a cake, and we’d have parties with family and friends.
Then, in 2012, I was introduced to Iain, 41.
We hit it off, and he was great with Paige, too.
We tied the knot in October 2014, and soon after, we were trying for a baby of our own.
We were thrilled when I fell pregnant, but, tragically, I lost the baby at 11 weeks.
I had two more miscarriages
after that, and each one ripped my heart to pieces.
Eventually, my GP gave me a drug to help me carry a pregnancy.
I fell pregnant 2015, and the baby’s due date was 19 May.
A few people wondered if I’d give birth on my birthday again, but I just laughed it off. ‘No chance,’ I snorted. But at the start of May, doctors were concerned about my high blood pressure – and on 9 May, I was induced again.
Labour progressed slowly
like last time, and it turned out the baby was breech.
‘We need to do a Caesarean,’ a doctor said.
And the only available date for the op? My 30th birthday! As Enya-rose was born, my heart melted. ‘Our rainbow baby!’ I cried to Iain. She’d brought happiness after a tough time. I believe it was fate she arrived on my birthday.
I’ve worked out that in 2026, we’ll be celebrating my 40th birthday, Paige’s 21st, and Enya-rose’s 10th!
Apparently, I beat the odds of 48 million to give birth on my birthday twice.
Turns out my luck got even better, too – I gave birth to my third daughter, Poppy-ann, in January!
While she doesn’t share our birthday, she came when I thought I’d never have another child – she’s our pot of gold baby!
I hope my story encourages other women not to give up hope.
My beautiful girls have brought me so much joy.