Meet the couple who simply wanted a sibling for their eldest son – and then beat 700,000 to one odds to have two sets of twins in 13 months.
Emma Ingram, 34, and husband Liam, 32, spent six years spending thousands of pounds on infertility treatment after failing to conceive again following the birth of son Mackenzie, now ten.
When a last ditch infertility attempt resulted in twins Maddison and Jaxson, 18 months, the couple were thrilled and believed their family was complete.
Liam and Emma Ingram wanted a sibling for their son, Mackenzie, but ended up with two sets of twins – Jaxon and Maddison, both 18 months old, and Alexa and Sienna, both four months
Mackenzie (left) with his mother and siblings (from left) Alexa, Sienna, Maddison and Jaxon
But when the babies were just five months old Mrs Ingram discovered she had conceived naturally.
The couple, from Caerphilly, Wales, were stunned when a scan later revealed she was due to give birth to another set of twins.
The odds of having two sets of twins are 1 in 700,000 and having two sets together is considered highly unusual.
Cradling Alexa and Sienna, now four months, Mrs Ingram said: ‘If someone had told me ‘next Christmas you will be a mum to five children’ I would have thought they were joking.
‘But my story just shows you never know what little surprises life has in store for you. Our little girls are miracle babies.’
The IT technician and her HGV driver husband conceived their first son within three months of meeting.
The couple spent six years and thousands of pounds on fertility treatment after failing to conceive again in the ten years since son Mackenzie (pictured centre) was born
Maddison, Mackenzie and Jaxon pose shortly after the births of Alexa (left) and Sienna (right)
When he was aged two the pair, who wed in June 2009, thought they would have no problems having a second baby.
However, when after two years nothing happened, the couple sought private infertility treatment undergoing four rounds of Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) in a bid to get pregnant.
Mrs Ingram said: ‘The goal of IUI was to increase the number of sperm in the fallopian tubes in the hope it would increase the chance of fertilisation.
‘Each time I had to take drugs to increase my egg production too. Liam and I were so excited as we thought it was bound to work.
‘The first cycle cost £2,800 which each additional cycle costing £380. So we were so disappointed when the first three goes all failed.
‘It was a terrible time because I felt so guilty wanting another baby when I already had Mackenzie. Yet Liam and I desperately wanted to give him a sibling.’
The odds of having two sets of twins (who are all pictured together) are 1 in 700,000
Liam and Emma Ingram with Mackenzie (left), who is also pictured (right) with his father and siblings Alexa and Sienna in the hospital
The couple decided to give up and content themselves with one child.
‘But while we were on holiday in Cyprus my mum Katrina persuaded us to have one more go. Incredibly it was successful.’
In June 2016 Mrs Ingram gave birth at 37 weeks to Maddison, 5Ib 14oz, and Jaxson, 5lb 8oz.
‘We were so happy to have the twins. With two boys and a girl we felt our family was complete.’
However, in the New Year 2017 she began to feel unwell.
‘At first I put it down to a bug which the whole family had suffered from, only I couldn’t shake it off. I then realised my last period had been some weeks before Christmas.
‘When I told Liam I thought I might be pregnant he was shocked – partly because we’d only had one night away from the children since the twins had been born. We were both stunned when a test proved positive.’
Maddison (centre) with twins Alexa (left) and Sienna (right) just days after they were born
Alexa (left), 5Ib 14oz and Sienna (right), 5Ib 9oz, are non-identical twins who arrived in August
There was a further shock in store when their first seven-week scan revealed once again it was non-identical twins.
‘I must admit my first thought was how would we cope?! Our three bedroom house was already bursting at the seams with three children.’
However, in August, when Alexa, 5Ib 14oz, and Sienna, 5Ib 9oz, arrived at 37 weeks, the family moved with into a five bed detached house which they share with Mrs Ingram’s mother Katrina, 62.
‘Christmas with five children is magical. Yes it is hard work to have two sets of twins but we have lots of support from family and Liam and I feel incredibly lucky.’
There will not, however, be any more little surprises as both Mrs Ingram and her husband have now been sterilised.
She adds: ‘While Liam and I are thrilled to be a family of seven, five children is definitely enough. After having two sets of twins in 13 months we definitely couldn’t risk having any more.’