While the chances of giving birth to twins increased 72 percent between 1980 and 2018, it’s still pretty rare. About 33 out of every 1,000 births are twins.
And what are the chances of identical twins? Approximately every three or four births out of every 1,000 are identical twins. So again, relatively rare.
When 23-year-old Savannah Combs found out she was pregnant with twins, she was thrilled. And then she learned another rarity, they both had Down syndrome.
Of course, it was emotional news. Savannah and her husband, Justin Ackerman, knew that some people would judge her and her babies because of their condition.
But to Savannah, that’s what makes them incredibly precious.
“It’s very rare what they have, but they’ve been my little gems,” she told News4JAX.
Savannah, who is from Middleburg, Florida, shared her post-pregnancy journey with her daughters Kennadi Rue and Mckenli Ackerman, on TikTok where they quickly gained a following.
In one of her videos, Savannah said she was told to abort her babies because they would not make it.
She decided to keep them and give them a fighting chance.
”Every [prenatal] appointment they were alive was a blessing to me,” Savannah explained.
When she learned they both had Down syndrome, her husband was away at boot camp.
Savannah was 29 weeks pregnant when she was admitted to the hospital, and delivered her daughters. The identical twin girls, Kennadi Rue and Mckenli Ackerman, were born on May 12, 2021.
The twins arrived two months before their due date, so they had to spend several weeks in the NICU before they came home.
They’re called mono di twins, meaning that they had their own sacs, but they shared the same placenta, meaning that they were going to be identical,” she said.
“Mo di twins as it is, it’s like very rare. And then you throw Down syndrome on top of it, it’s like one in 2 million.”
Despite their rare condition, Savannah said they are just like any other child.
“They have feelings. They have a beating heart. They know how to talk. They know how to do things you do. They will get there,” she said.
“Like I said, it may be a step behind but they’re going to do it. I’ve learned these kids are feisty little things and happy little things.”
Texas mom breastfeeds newborn son at a restaurant, then stranger asks her to cover up
It appears to be an innocuous picture of a mother nursing her child at first glance. But if you look closely, you can see the little element that made this photo go viral.
The act of breastfeeding is a wonderful and natural way for a mother and her little one to bond and build intimacy.
Moms shouldn’t feel guilty about feeding their children whenever and wherever they are hungry, but regrettably, some people criticize them because they think it’s improper or unacceptable for them to feed their children in public if they don’t use a cover.In 2018, while dining at a restaurant with her family and friends, Melanie Dudley, a mother of a 3-month-old child, noticed the infant wailing for food. Melanie, originally from Texas, immediately began nursing her son. And while that was great with everyone, it appeared that the stranger seated at the adjacent table was uncomfortable with the mother’s lack of coverage while nursing.
Melanie was contacted by him and requested to hide. She did just that, though not in the way that the stranger had anticipated.”I was asked to cover myself by a man while on vacation in Cabo San Lucas with my whole family. We were sitting at the rear of the restaurant, but I’m generally discrete,” Melanie said to Yahoo.It was really hot, even though I was wearing a cover. The Texan told TODAY, “It was about 95 degrees, and my little baby was sweating.””I said, ‘What do you know?
I’m taking this off; I’m on vacation.
The entire restaurant burst out laughing when Melanie took the cover off and wore it on her head.I simply placed it above my head. I’m not sure why. It wasn’t even close to being a scandalous altercation. That was all I had to say. I was at a loss for words, so I decided to just hide my head,” the woman said.Carol Lockwood, a witness to the entire event, snapped a picture of Melanie and posted it online with the remark, “I’ve never met her, but I think she’s AWESOME!!!”Kindly distribute! I have made this content public with permission. I’m so sick of hearing people shame women for nursing! The picture was shared 225,000 times and counting in no time at all.
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