‘Mono Mono’ Twins Born Holding Hands – Yes, HOLDING HANDS!

Talk about an amazing Mother’s Day gift: Mono mono twins?

No, not mano y mano where two guys take each other on in a fist fight, but two special little girls who are very rare identical monoamniotic twins, or mono mono, which means they shared one placenta and amniotic sac, the result of the same embryo splitting more than eight days after fertilization.

And if that’s not enough to bring you tears of Mother’s Day joy, these mono mono twins were born holding hands! Are you kidding me? Bring me some tissue!!!

Sarah Thistlethwaite, a middle-school teacher from Orrville, Ohio, gave birth to the two little mono mono sweethearts on Friday via cesarean section – And, again, not only are they a one in 10,000 pair, but they were born holding hands!

Thistlethwaite had been in the hospital for nearly two months leading up to the mono mono twins’ birth, and didn’t even know she was having twins until January when she and her husband, Bill, went in for a third ultrasound during the 19th week of the pregnancy.

“The ultrasound tech said, ‘Oh, there’s two.’ And my husband said, ‘Two what?'” said Thistlethwaite.

The wonderful but surprising news caught the Thistlethwaites off guard, particularly because they were once told they would never be able to have children. Then when they found out their twins were of the rare mono mono variety, the potential for complications was mixed in also.

“We were so excited that we were having twins and so that was great,” said Thistlethwaite. “Then you have the flip side of it that I knew I would have to be in the hospital for eight or nine weeks.”

According to Akron Children’s Hospital’s Dr. Justin Lavin, mono mono pregnancies are high risk because of the potential for the babies’ umbilical cords to get tangled or compressed. Commenting on the rarity aspect of mono mono twins, Dr. Lavin noted:

I’ve been practicing high-risk obstetrics for about 35 years and I’ve seen less than 10 cases.”

The mono mono twins, named Jenna and Jillian, will join the Thistlethwaite’s 15-month-old son, Jaxon, two little sisters that promise to keep big brother on his toes.

The mono mono twins were delivered by Dr. Katherine Wolfe and Dr. Melissa Mancuso at 2:41 p.m. Wolfe and Mancuso had closely monitored the high-risk pregnancy for several weeks.

Despite the concerns, Doctors reportedly say the babies seemed to be doing great as they were whisked from the delivery room to receive their first checkups, not as mono mono twins, but functioning on their own independent little systems.

So, Happy Mother’s Day to Sarah Thistlethwaite! Two beautiful little girls and also unique mono mono twins.

And did I mention they were born holding hands? Mono-mono or not, so cute!

Images via Akron Children’s Hospital