Having spent nine months together in their mother’s womb, twins often share an incredibly close and special bond.
Identical twin sisters Jalynne April Crawford and Janelle Ann Leopoldo are no exception.
Writing for Love What Matters, Crawford wrote, “The bond is so strong that one can feel what the other feels, and vice versa.”
Growing up, Crawford and Leopoldo were inseparable. The twins both loved doing the same thing together, even though they have different personalities.
“We dressed alike every day, shared a car and cell phone, had the same friends … we were glued to each other’s hip,” Crawford recalled.
Living in a big family of nine, their siblings always adored their close-knit relationship, which they referred to as the “twin connection.”
In high school, Crawford even dreamed about she and her sister living near each other “with our houses connected by a bridge,” and having babies together.
“Growing up, my twin sister and I talked about how neat it would be to get married together and have babies together,” Leopoldo told Good Morning America.
In 2017, the twin sisters’ dream came true when they found out they were both pregnant in the same gestational period.
“When I got the text my face lit up,” Crawford, who learned about her pregnancy four days before Leopoldo, told PEOPLE. “I got chills in my arm, and then seconds later she called and we were both like ‘Thank you, thank you, God.’”
The news was the rainbow after the storm, because previously, they had both suffered from miscarriages, and Leopoldo had struggled with infertility and was also diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome—a disorder of chronically abnormal ovarian function and hyperandrogenism (abnormally elevated androgen levels)—and also had an ectopic pregnancy.
On top of that, their 38-year-old sister, Jennifer Pippin, had recently passed away from a sudden asthma attack.
Crawford and Leopoldo shared their pregnancy journeys together.
“We constantly shared ultrasound pictures, discussed our doctor’s visits, and talked about our baby’s movements,” Crawford wrote.
By the four-month mark, Leopoldo started flying to Arizona from California so as to attend doctors’ appointments with Crawford.
Leopoldo, who lives in California with her husband, Jason Sergio Leopoldo, moved to Arizona to be with her sister six weeks before their due date.
According to PEOPLE, the couples first met at UCLA in 2005, where they were all student-athletes.
Incredibly, the twin sisters’ babies “were positioned in the same way, their weights were ounces off, and length was the same.”
“Our doctor and the ultrasound technician could not believe their eyes! Neither had ever seen twins share a pregnancy together and they discussed how crazy it was that the babies were growing so similarly,” Crawford wrote.
Even more wonderful, on June 18, 2018, Crawford and Leopoldo both gave birth to baby boys via C-sections by the same doctor, in the same hospital, only around three hours apart.
Crawford chose to deliver first as “I was born first, I was due first, and my husband’s job only allows for 3 days paternity leave.”
With the birth of Bryson Ryder Crawford and Jace Alan Leopoldo, the twin sisters will become even closer as they get together each year to celebrate the boys’ birthday—June 18, 2o18.
According to Crawford, Bryce and Jace are already best friends.
“Our 6 children between the two families are already so close. Every time we leave each other, our children are asking us when we will see them next. How blessed we are!” Crawford shared.
Crawford, who is a mother of four children, finally feels her family is now “complete,” and adds that “I’m officially done.”
However, she further comments that she can’t say the same about her sister, “I know she and her husband want four kids as well, so they’re not done.”
Crawford and Leopoldo’s fascinating bond is so enviable! Life is always easier with a close-knit sister or brother who will stick by our side through thick and thin.
“It was just really special to have each other there because we are each other’s support system—we’re attached to the hip,” Leopoldo told InsideEdition.com.
