Mum gives birth to two babies months apart but they aren't twins
A mum has shared how she gave birth to two babies just months apart, but her sons aren't actually twins.
Karen Patterson, 36, and partner Lee Green, 37, from Norwich are the proud parents of two healthy boys, who were born just ten months apart.
The couple were "over the moon" to learn that Patterson was pregnant with their first child in October 2021.
Though they had been together for four years, they had only been trying for a baby for two months.
At the 20 week scan at Norwich and Norfolk Hospital the couple were thrilled to discover they were having a boy.
But just 56 days later, when she was 27 weeks and two days pregnant, Patterson's waters broke unexpectedly.
"I noticed that I had a lot of discharge when I went to the toilet, so me and Lee thought it best to get checked out," she explains.
"After an eye-watering internal examination, the doctors told me that my waters had broken.
"I was terrified because and I knew this meant something was wrong."
Hunter was born at Norfolk and Norwich Hospital weighing just 2lbs, at 21.59pm on March 7, 2022.
The new parents spent the next three months by their son's bedside as he battled sepsis, meningitis and chronic lung disease.
"It was the hardest time of my life," Patterson explains.
"He had lumbar punctures, six blood transfusions and needed an oxygen mask for six weeks.
"I was finally able to hold him for the first time in 18 days, and I couldn't even describe how that felt."
After taking a healthy Hunter home on May 8, 2022, Patterson says she was "shocked" to discover that she was pregnant for the second time just five months after his birth.
"We couldn't believe I was pregnant so soon after Hunter as we hadn't been trying, but we were really excited," Patterson explains.
"I was around 10 weeks pregnant when Lee proposed on a trip away to the Lake District and it was magical."
From 20 weeks into her pregnancy Patterson was monitored fortnightly by consultants and says everything seemed to be "perfect".
"It was tiring looking after a six-month-old while making sure my baby was healthy," she adds.
"But Lee and both our parents were the best support that I could have ever asked for.
"Knowing everything was going well with my pregnancy made it easier."
But three months before her due date, Patterson went to hospital after experiencing "sharp" stomach pains and describes feeling "devastated" to learn that her second child would also be arriving prematurely.
"It was soul destroying when my waters broke at 29 weeks the second time round," she explains.
At just 29 weeks pregnant Patterson gave birth to another baby boy, Jesse, weighing a tiny 3lbs, on January 21, 2023, just ten months after his brother.
The newborn was immediately taken to NICU and medics revealed he had a lower blockage in his bowels and would need an ileostomy bag.
"I couldn't believe that this was happening again," Patterson says of her son's early arrival.
"His blockage was causing him to throw up poo out of his mouth and nose.
"I've never seen so many wires attached to a human being let alone a tiny baby," she continues.
"It was heartbreaking and I desperately wanted to make everything better for him."
The infant spent several months in the in NICU hospital but was finally able to be brought home after 123 days and two months later he was able to have his [ileostomy bag] reversal.
Despite the initial juggle of having a four-month-old and a 14-month-old at home, the couple say they loved their "magical mayhem".
Their parents say both babies, now aged 12 and 22 months, are healthy, "cheeky" boys who love to laugh.
"Hunter met his brother on his first birthday, six weeks after Jesse was born, and he's been obsessed with him since," Patterson explains.
"They are so close, and I am so excited for them to walk me down the aisle in June 2024.
"They are my little warriors and I know I'm the luckiest mummy to have such little champs."
Patterson is now raising money for Norwich and Norfolk Hospital to support the NICU team by running the Brighton half marathon.
"Me and Lee are incredibly grateful to the staff for looking after us and our boys," she adds.
Additional reporting SWNS.
Real life: Read more
Mum who found lump while breastfeeding told she may not be alive in five years (Yahoo Life UK, 4-min read)
Dad shares how he delivered his baby on living room carpet (Yahoo Life UK, 4-min read)
What I've learned from having my first child at 23 and my second at 40 (Yahoo Life UK, 9-min read)
