After four failed rounds of IVF treatments at a New York fertility clinic, Sandra Stodola was nearly losing hope that she would have a child with her husband, Jack Stodola. But on the fifth try, the couple received a wonderful gift in the form of a pair of twins born in February 2022, but one of the girls is not Sandra's daughter.
Sandra and Jack spent more than $20,000 for the four IVF procedures and were left heartbroken when none of it became a viable pregnancy. Speaking with The Sun, Sandra said that she truly believed that pregnancy was not for her, but she and Jack decided on a last-ditch effort.
For the fifth and final IVF, Sandra used her remaining frozen embryos and then also decided to use donor eggs to raise her chances of having a baby. Nine days later, Sandra and Jack got the confirmation they had been waiting to hear for so long. They were finally pregnant!
However, on the sixth week of the pregnancy, the couple received even more great news when they were told that they should be expecting twins. They were also informed that this was a unique pregnancy because the babies had two different biological mothers, as one came from the donor egg.
"They are fraternal twins and half-sisters with different biological mothers and the same father," Sandra said.
Their daughters will know their conception story
Eleanor Ann and Evelyn Louise now complete the Stodola family. Born at 36 weeks through an emergency C-section, Eleonor is the oldest by two minutes and weighs slightly heavier than Evelyn, per Daily Mirror.
Sandra said she had a textbook pregnancy but still could not shake off the fact that she could lose the baby at any time. Whenever she went to her regular health checks, Sandra said she was always anxious and petrified that something would turn bad and that the doctor would give her the bad news.
Today, however, she and Jack are relishing in the twins. Sandra said she gets a kick out of telling people that the twins are genetic half-sisters with two biological moms. She and Jack know which daughter is biologically linked to Sandra as it's physically obvious to them and to close family members.
The parents said they wouldn't hide the truth from the girls when they get old enough to know about the circumstances of their conception. The girls are also free to look for the donor mom once they are 18.
Sandra said she would keep sharing her experience so that other mothers like her, who had struggled with fertility issues, can normalize infertility and all the bad emotions that go with it. The euphoric mom said despite the pain, depression, and anxiety, every second and every penny spent on having the twin girls were truly worth it.
Twin girls birthed by two different moms
Meanwhile, in 2020, biological twins Ava Rae and Everly Rose were also born to two different mothers in two separate hospitals at two different timelines. Mom Kelsi Piece had a hard time getting pregnant because she had many infertility issues. She and her partner, Kyle, were thinking of surrogacy when Piece's mom, Lisa Rutherford, offered to be the one to carry the baby.
After passing the tests and getting an all-clear from the doctors, Rutherford underwent an embryo transplant to carry her daughter's biological child. But a few weeks later, Piece also found out that her IVF worked, and she was pregnant with another child, per the Times News Now.
Everly Rose, however, was born eight weeks earlier, 12 hours away from her parents. She had to be in intensive care for six days due to a lung complication. She weighed 5lb and 5oz. On the other hand, Ava Rae was born as a healthy baby and weighed 7lb and 3oz.
Now a mom of two healthy girls, Piece hopes she will be as good as her mother, who made the ultimate sacrifice when she knew her daughter needed her.
