Having twins can be hard work for any parents. But spare a thought for Jackie Kay and husband Tony, who have set a British record by having two sets just 11 months and three days apart.
Jackie, 28, gave birth to girls Sarah and Paige at Ipswich Hospital on October 11 last year – and then, on September 14 this year, boys Wesley and Nicholas arrived.
Jackie said: ‘It really was meant to be. To fall pregnant with my second set of twins so close to each other is astounding – and it took a while to sink in.’
Jackie, 28, gave birth to girls Sarah and Paige at Ipswich Hospital on October 11 last year – and then, on September 14 this year, boys Wesley and Nicholas arrived
The couple from Rendlesham in Suffolk, who also have a three-year-old daughter, Emily, hadn’t planned to extend their family so soon, but just a few months after Sarah and Paige arrived, Jackie discovered she was pregnant.
She said: ‘It was a surprise as we hadn’t been trying for another baby. When I saw the test result showing positive, I was in shock and so was Tony. I was worried that we were having another baby when the twins were so little. At that stage, we never imagined it could be twins again.’
But when Jackie, a customer services adviser, and Tony, 38, a tagging systems manager for the Ministry of Justice, went to the hospital for a scan, the sonographer broke the news that another two babies were on their way.
Jackie said: ‘I was happy, but I was so worried about how I was going to cope with two sets of twins, born so close together. The girls were only four months old, and to be told I was expecting another set was just mind-blowing.’
The couple from Rendlesham in Suffolk, who also have a three-year-old daughter, Emily, hadn’t planned to extend their family so soon, but just a few months after Sarah and Paige arrived, Jackie discovered she was pregnant
Jackie’s pregnancy went smoothly and Wesley and Nicholas were born by caesarean section last month.
She says she makes sure the children are all in bed early, adding: ‘It is hard work but I love being a mum to two sets of twins.
‘The key to it is getting all the children in a strict routine. And I have to be incredibly organised. But that is definitely it for me – we aren’t planning any more additions to our family.
‘Two sets of twins is more than enough for anyone.’