Twins born 24 days apart go home -- and dad proposes to mom
It has been a long three weeks, but twin boys born 24 days apart are finally going home.
WTKR reports Lindalva da Silva was just 24 weeks along when she went into labor with the first child, Alexandre.
Tufts Medical Center Doctors reportedly tried to delay the birth given the heightened risk of premature delivery, but Alexandre apparently didn't get the memo and came out weighing only one pound and ten ounces.
Da Silva told ABC she was definitely concerned. "I panicked ... It wasn't time. It was too early. I knew I could lose the babies."
Doctors then performed what's called a "delayed twin birth," which is a seldom-performed and risky procedure to give the second twin more time inside mom. Luckily, it worked, as twin number two -- Ronaldo -- was given another 24 days to grow before da Silva gave birth a second time.
The father of the twins was obviously choked up but quick to joke to ABC about his new little ones. "One twin was born in winter, and one was born in spring."
Apparently, this type of delayed twin delivery is so improbable it's barely even tracked.
The Boston Globe points to a study that found only 14 cases in about 97,000 deliveries over 12 years.
On the big day, a beaming Lindalva said, "We don't even know what to do. We decided to start a family."
The two only had a fifty percent chance of survival, and now, nine days after their original due date of June 18th, they were ready to go home -- but there was one more exciting bit of news to come.
Hours before they were released, the twins' father proposed to Linda -- and the twins helped, wearing t-shirts that said "mom, will you marry dad?"
As for a wedding date, they are in no rush. They'd like to wait for the boys to be able to walk so they can carry the rings down the aisle.
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