Parents of two sets of twins born months apart ‘want to pull hair out' sometimes

27 February 2023 , 17:15

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Britney and Frankie Alba have gone from a family of two to a family of six in just over two years (Image: University of Alabama at Birmingham)

The tired parents of two sets of twins born six months apart said some nights leave them wanting to 'pull their hair out'.

Britney and Frankie Alba have gone from a family of two to a family of six in just over two years, with Britney discovering she was pregnant again just six months after giving birth to identical brothers Levi and Luka.

She then gave birth to Lydia and Lynlee, who are monoamniotic-monochorionic twins, also known as “MoMo” twins - meaning they shared the same placenta and amitotic sac in the womb.

The rare pregnancy is high-risk and has an occurrence of only 1 in 35,000 to 1 in 60,000 pregnancies in the US.

Britney Alba, from Alabama, spent 50 days in the hospital with her husband traveling between Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, so they could spend time together and with their boys.

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Now, the family say they are settling into a new life which has changed "dramatically and very quickly".

Levi and Luka welcome home twin sisters Lydia and Lynlee (wrbc)

Britney said: "Even on those nights where we feel like we want to pull our hair out, and none of our children want to sleep, we just have to remind ourselves how lucky and how blessed we are to be able to have these children."

Speaking to Good Morning America, the mum-of-four added: "Life has definitely changed dramatically and very quickly but it's a huge blessing for us and we are just looking forward to what the future holds with these babies because they're special."

Speaking of the worries over the MoMo twin girls, Britney said: "So we were super excited. Super excited. But it was like a laughing-and-crying-at-the-same-time moment.

Britney and Frankie Alba welcomed their second set of identical twins, Lydia and Lynlee, this past November (wrbc)

"It was already rare for there to be identical twins back to back, but particularly just my twins because MoMo twins make up 1% of all twin pregnancies. It's very rare.

"So just their pregnancy alone was rare. But then to have identical twin brothers right before them made it even more rare, so definitely a unique situation."

At 24 weeks, MoMo twins develop a risk for cord entanglement that can result in a stillbirth. Because of this, Britney Alba was checked into the hospital at 24 weeks pregnant so doctors could monitor the twins.

Britney Alba, from Alabama, spent 50 days in the hospital with her husband traveling between Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, so they could spend time together and with their boys (University of Alabama at Birmingham)

Britney Alba delivered the girls by C-section and following time in the NICU, the girls are now home with their mom, dad and brothers, reports Fox19.

Britney added: "After all that time in the hospital, it didn’t seem real, like it was actually going to happen. And then when it actually happened and we were all home, it was surreal."

Frankie added: "It was definitely a very challenging time in our lives and in our marriage, but it was definitely worth it.

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Britney and Frankie Alba have gone from a family of two to a family of six in just over two years (University of Alabama at Birmingham)

“We love it, we love the time with our family, and we cherish every moment."

While MoMo twins carry a higher risk of complications, such as miscarriage, stillbirth, foetal anomalies than identical twins, but also have a risk of cord entanglement.

Abigail O'Leary