Twin sisters give birth mere hours apart

Their due dates were two days apart.

Identical twins FRESNO, CALIF. —

BaoNhia and BaoKou Yang were inseparable growing up in Fresno, and on Sunday night when each sister gave birth to a daughter, it seemed more like destiny than chance.

“We share a lot. And everywhere we go, we go together,” BaoKou says.

But the sisters, 23, didn’t plan on having simultaneous pregnancies and same-night births. It just happened. “Maybe it’s like a miracle,” BaoNhia said. “It was amazing. I didn’t know I was pregnant until I took the pregnancy test after she did, and I found out I was pregnant, too.”

The sisters’ due dates were two days apart. BaoKou was due Nov. 11 and BaoNhia on Nov. 13.

BaoKou went into labor first on Sunday, Nov. 4 at Community Regional Medical Center. But she had an idea that her sister might soon follow. BaoNhia told her: “I’m having a pain here and there, too. So I might be in labor with you.”

BaoKou gave birth to Nadalie Xiong at 6:59 p.m. and BaoNhia gave birth to Candra Thao at 8:48 p.m. The newborns were almost the same weight: Nadalie weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces; Candra weighed exactly 7 pounds.

BaoKou and BaoNhia are from a family of 14 children. They’re the second to the youngest. Sister Mao Yang said the siblings made a bet on which twin would go into labor first. She won, when BaoKou entered the hospital. “But we didn’t think it’s going to be on the same day,” she said of the double delivery. “We just bet who is going to go first.”

When the twins were babies, they cried if they were apart. As children, if one was ill, so was the other. They had special words they shared. They had the same friends. Even their mother would get the two confused. During these pregnancies, they had the same food cravings. “Like sour stuff,” BaoKou said. “It was the same — sour, spicy,” BaoNhia agreed.

And “yes,” they said in unison on Monday, they wanted to share a room together when Community Regional offered one on Sunday night. Sitting side by side on a bed, BaoNhia swaddled Candra and BaoKou snuggled Nadalie.

The sisters each had a miscarriage during a first pregnancy, and BaoKou said she leaned on her twin during this one. Nadalie is her first child. BaoNhia has two older daughters.

BaoNhia lives in Clovis, Calif., and BaoKou in Fresno, but they are seldom apart, often cooking meals together.