Newborn Utah twins share birthday quirk
DRAPER — Just because they’re twins doesn’t mean they have as much in common as one might think.
As it turns out, fraternal twins born this week at Lone Peak Hospital don’t even share the same birthday.
According to their parents, little Josie and Hallie Townsend were born on different days when their delivery began late Monday night and carried over into early Tuesday.
“Josie was born at 11:38, I believe, on (December) 15th,” mother Ellie Townsend said during an interview Wednesday with KSL 5. “Then, Hallie, I think, (was born at) 12:38 a.m. on the 16th.”
It was only the latest ‘first’ for Ellie and her husband, Ky Townsend, who were stunned months earlier when the ultrasound showed they were going to have twins.
“I’ve always wanted, you know, a few kids, so you’re getting them a little bit quicker than expected and I’m just super excited about it,” Ky said.
Twins were not common on either side of the family, the couple said.
“On my side, my grandpa–his aunt and uncle were twins, and that was the closest twins on my side,” Ky explained. “And then on (Ellie’s) side, her grandpa also had an aunt and uncle who were twins, so pretty far back.”
Ellie said she was 36 weeks when she and her husband went into the hospital Monday morning for a scheduled induction, and she really didn’t expect the delivery to go beyond 2:00 p.m.
She hadn’t even contemplated the possibility the delivery could have stretched into different days.
“I think it’s something I had never thought it was a thing to think about until it happened,” Ellie said. “I think it will be really fun for them to be individual people and get an individual birthday.”
Dad saw more simplicity in the matter.
“I like the idea of cake 2 days in a row, so it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Ky laughed.
Both parents said they believed the twins would appreciate having separate birthdays in the future.
“Instead of always feeling like it’s the two of them, I think it gives them some individuality, which they’ll enjoy,” Ky Townsend said.
