Twins celebrate first Christmas after one was given just 1% chance of survival
These two baby boys are miraculous proof that good things can come in both small – and even smaller – bundles.
Because they’re not just big brother and little brother waiting excitedly for Christmas Day with their proud parents. They’re also twins. And Archie and Jacob’s entry into the world last January was astonishing too – with mum Molly Digby giving birth to them at just 28 weeks in the bathroom of the family home.
Smaller twin Archie was given just a 1% chance of survival, weighing only 1lb 1oz, while Jacob had a 10% chance at 2lb 2oz. “We could have lost both of them,” says Molly. “Now our boys will really put the magic into Christmas this year.”
The bigger twin, Jacob, popped out while his stunned mum was on the loo and she had to act quickly to retrieve him from the toilet bowl. She then gave birth to Archie just two minutes later on the bathroom floor – after piercing his amniotic sac with a hair grip.
She was terrified to see he wasn’t breathing – but she saved her tiny son in the nick of time by giving him CPR while holding him in the palm of her hand under instruction from a 999 call handler. Now this wonderful little and large act are all set for their first visit from Santa – with Jacob now weighing 16lb 5oz and his brother Archie 8lb 8oz.
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Proud mum Molly with her boysAnd beaming former nursery nurse Molly and partner James Buckman, both 25, can’t wait to see them playing with their new toys. “This Christmas will be all about making memories,” says Molly while James adds: “They absolutely are miracles.”
The family’s drama began when doctors first spotted Archie was 25% smaller than his brother at Molly’s 12-week scan. She was then given fortnightly scans to check on his development – but the size gap kept increasing. The couple were told Archie’s umbilical cord wasn’t attached to the placenta in the usual way and that his size difference could have a genetic cause.
Molly and car electrician James were sick with worry, but knew their boys were in good hands. Molly says: “I always wanted children but it was a mixture of shock and excitement to find out we were having twins. Knowing one was having difficulties, it wasn’t easy. But at every medical appointment they’d say, ‘there are still two heartbeats’. So we stayed positive throughout.”
On January 3 at 27 weeks, her scan showed Archie was 50% smaller than Jacob – and Molly was told to pack a bag for her next appointment. “There was a risk if they didn’t deliver them early, we could lose Archie,” she says. “As long as my babies were safe, I was happy for them to do whatever needed to be done.”
The family are getting ready to celebrate their first Christmas
Molly with her boys and a hair grip (The Daily Mirror)A few days later at home in Leighton Buzzard, Beds, Molly started coughing and experiencing stomach pains, so she went to hospital as a precaution. She was told that her cough was probably causing muscular pain and was sent home with some strong painkillers. But on January 8 the pains increased overnight.
“That night, I was in and out of sleep and the pain became a lot more intense and regular,” she says. Next morning, with James on a job 90 miles away, Molly called the hospital. She got the same advice, but the stomach cramps intensified. “It was enough to catch my breath,” she says. “And I just knew that something wasn’t right.”
At midday she went to the bathroom thinking she needed the loo. “There was like a pop and sort of a gush, which was my waters breaking – but I didn’t know what was happening. I hadn’t even realised I was in labour,” she says.
“I went to get my phone, took my pyjama trousers off and went back to the toilet.” Before Molly knew what was happening she had given birth to Jacob in the loo. “I was in total shock,” she says. “I scooped him out of the toilet, put him on my pyjama bottoms on the floor and checked he was breathing.”
Ringing 999, Molly told the call handler Jacob had arrived. But as she was speaking, Archie followed. “I felt something come out and there was this veiny blue blob, which I now know was the amniotic sac, on the bathroom floor,” she says. “The 999 handler told me to feel for a head and then said I needed to break the sac. “The only thing I had was a cactus or a bobby pin (hair grip) – so I used that. I managed to break it, but Archie was totally lifeless and blue - he wasn’t breathing or crying.”
The family with their NHS savioursHolding Archie’s tiny body in the palm of her hand, she followed the calm call handler’s instructions and gave him CPR for 10 agonising minutes before he finally took his first shaky breath. Molly says: “All I was thinking was, ‘I must give him the best possible chance of survival or I’ll lose him’.”
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Moments after Archie began breathing – and just 17 minutes after her emergency call – a team of 11 paramedics, ambulances and an air ambulance arrived to take over. Molly says: “I don’t remember thinking or feeling anything. I just knew I was given an incredible opportunity that day. Either I sat there and watched my child die or I gave him the best possible chance at life – and that’s what I did. One thing I do remember is that my bathroom looked like a crime scene by the end of it all – but it was the best day of my life.”
The boys were rushed to Luton and Dunstable University Hospital in one ambulance with Molly in another after medics diagnosed her cough as pneumonia. Molly discovered later that Jacob had stopped breathing in the ambulance, but he was saved by the amazing paramedics. She says: “I can’t even remember calling James, but apparently I did and said ‘The boys have arrived’.”
And when James arrived at the hospital a few hours later, the new parents went to see their sons in intensive care. Molly says: “It was really emotional.” For the next nine weeks, the twins stayed in hospital on oxygen and slowly gained strength. It was really hard but we had to stay positive,” Molly says.
Jacob came home nine weeks later, with Archie following at 16 weeks. Both boys are now doing well. Jacob is now crawling, and Archie is undergoing genetic testing to find out why his growth rate is slower. Meanwhile Molly and James are so grateful their miracle twins survived and have taken them to meet some of the team from the East of England Ambulance Service who saved them.
Molly says: “I’m so happy they got to meet the twins again and saw how well they’re doing. I’ll treasure that experience for ever. I gave everybody so much gratitude and thanks for what they’ve done.” Now Molly and James can’t wait for their boys’ first Christmas. “We will be seeing family as much as possible,” says Molly.
Melissa Dowdeswell, chief of clinical operations at East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust, praised call handler Nick Hall for guiding Molly during her bathroom drama, as well as the crew and colleagues from Magpas Air Ambulance, for their work that day.
She said: “We are all so pleased that Molly and James and their twins, Archie and Jacob, will be celebrating their first Christmas together. Stories such as this give our staff a real boost.”
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