A Texas woman was in for a huge shock when she went to visit her doctor. Cara Winhold knew she was pregnant — but a month later, she found out she was pregnant again.
"When the tech told us there was another baby, we thought it was a joke at first and laughed until we saw the super tiny sac up on the screen and heard his heartbeat. Once they left the room to give my husband and I some time to process, I just remember laying on the table and breaking down in tears. I was happy, scared, and confused all at the same time. I didn’t understand how it happened," Winhold, 30, told FOX TV.
So what had happened was... Both babies were conceived a week apart "due to the measurements of their sacs," doctors said. It's a rare phenomenon called superfetation where a second egg is fertilized by sperm and implanted after the first one. Babies born from superfetation are considered twins since they're most likely to be born during the same birth on the same day, the news outlet reported. Furthermore, for this to happen, the mom-to-be would either need to ovulate while pregnant or have two uteri — which are both "highly unlikely."
Winhold, who is also a mom to 3-year-old Wyatt, gave birth to premature "twins" Colson and Cayden on October 25, 2021, 35 weeks and 2 days into her pregnancy.
Colson and Cayden are now about 8 months old. Looking back, Winhold said this rare double pregnancy gave her an opportunity to look at life in a new way. "Life happens unexpectedly! I had always tried to plan everything according to a timeline, ever since I was young. This has taught me that things are going to happen when they are supposed to happen and not when I want it to. It’s given me the opportunity to not stress as much when things aren’t happening for me and trust that there’s a reason for everything."