Jess, 31, and Chris Chelin, 34, were ‘completely sʜᴏᴄᴋed’ when they got Pʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴛ with twins naturally. The babies both weighed 6lb 7oz but Eric was born on January 19 at 11.52pm, while little Albert was born ten minutes later on January 20 at 12.02am.
The couple had previously spent over three years trying to ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇɪᴠᴇ and had undergone two rounds of IVF, one that resulted in the birth of their now two-year-old daughter, Ayda.
Their new ‘little Mɪʀᴀᴄʟᴇs’ were born in different sacs, have different hair colour and even have different star signs. Eric has dark brown hair, from his dad’s side, and is a Capricorn, while Albert has blond hair, from his mum’s side, and is an Aquarius. Jess said she felt ‘overjoyed’ when she held them for the first time.
The couple, who met in 2007 and married in 2015, always wanted to have a family of their own but were told they were unlikely to ever ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇɪᴠᴇ naturally. Jess, who was in her 20s at the time, was ᴅᴇᴠᴀꜱᴛᴀᴛᴇd when she was told her eggs were ‘akin to a wOᴍᴀɴ in her 40s’. After three years of trying to ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇɪᴠᴇ, they welcomed little Ayda into the world in September 2018 and felt ‘extremely grateful’ to have a child.
The pair never expected to welcome another, let alone a pair of twins. Jess, from York, said: “I was excited and overwhelmed when we realised we were Pʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴛ with twins. I couldn’t believe it, I didn’t believe it until they were born. I’m just so grateful. We feel so lucky. They’re our little Mɪʀᴀᴄʟᴇs. It was amazing to hold them for the first time and to know the journey we’ve all gone through as a family.
“We always wanted more than one child but when we had Ayda we obviously knew there was a chance she was going to be an only child. Now we’ve got the Bᴏʏs too and it warms my heart knowing they’re going to grow up having each other.”
Jess said it was agonising to watch her friends get Pʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴛ – and the couple seriously considered moving to Cᴀɴᴀᴅᴀ or Aᴜsᴛʀᴀʟɪᴀ as it became too overwhelming. In 2017, they attempted their first round of IVF, which the NHS offers for free, but it sadly failed.
Jess, a primary school teacher, said: “I had very little hope I was going to be able to have my own baby. They said it was very unlikely and the process of IVF is also really tough. It was so demoralising. Those two years seemed like the longest years ever, and it felt so futile.”
The couple were so certain they would not be able to ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇɪᴠᴇ again, they moved from Leeds to York and bought their first home together immediately after Ayda was born. But they’re now going to have to sell their three-bed terraced house and move into a bigger home to accommodate the new members of the family.
Dad Chris said it’s been chaotic and they will have to make many unexpected adjustments, but that it’s all been worthwhile as they have their ‘perfect family’. The property manager said: “It’s been completely crazy, our lives have been changed forever. But it’s all worth it, all the chaos in the house, all the cleaning, all the late nights – it’s 100 percent worth it. We never expected any of this, we didn’t think we’d have such a big family. We just can’t believe it.
“We genuinely believed for a long time that we might never have our own children and now we’ve got three beautiful babies. I’m exhausted but I’ve never been so happy.”
