My ‘twin’ boys were born six months and 900 miles apart – people think it’s crazy but it makes perfect sense

Erin Clancy, 42, owns a construction company and lives in New York, USA, with her husband Brian, 38, an electrician, and their sons Dylan, 12 months, and Declan, six months.

Here she tells the incredible story behind the birth of twins – one in her own womb and the other with a surrogate – who lived 900 miles away in Illinois.

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“Holding my newborn Dylan in my arms, I couldn’t believe it. He was perfect. I couldn’t wait for him to meet his “twin,” who was due in six months.

I met Brian in January 2016 on an online dating site. Handsome and attentive, he was exactly what I was looking for.

Three years later, he proposed and we got married in September 2020. It was a beautiful day.

We started trying to get pregnant in January 2021, confident that it would happen easily, which it didn’t.

That June, at age 39, I began IVF treatment.

The first round failed, and although the second was initially successful, I miscarried at seven weeks.

I was devastated, struggling to know what to do, especially since the cycle medication gave me horrible migraines.

That’s when our thoughts turned to surrogacy.

My baby 900 miles away

After much research, we registered with an agency and in May 2022, we met our surrogate, who lived 900 miles away in Illinois.

That August, my period was late. It seemed impossible, but I took a pregnancy test – and it was positive. I was scared and so happy, and I couldn’t believe this pregnancy would last until the end.

Going both ways was our best chance of having a baby, and if we had two, we would have been doubly happy.

At six weeks, I started bleeding and was rushed to the hospital.

A scan showed everything was fine, but I was sure disaster was about to happen, so we decided to go ahead with the surrogacy, after telling her we were pregnant and asking if she was okay to proceed as planned.

Surely, we thought, we would never be so lucky for her to get pregnant on the first try and for me to have a healthy birth?

Going both ways was our best chance of having a baby, and if we had two we would be doubly happy.

In February 2023, we met our surrogate for the first time, after having already connected via video calls.

I stood by her side as our embryo was implanted.

Seven days later, my phone buzzed with a photo of a positive pregnancy test.

With shaking hands, I called Brian. We had two babies on the way – we couldn’t believe it.

As the months went by, our replacement was amazing, sending updates and videos.

It was strange to feel my baby kick and my belly grow, while my other baby did the same in another woman’s body.

But it was strange to feel my baby kick and my belly grow, while my other baby did the same in another woman’s body.

Although biologically they weren’t twins, that’s how I thought of them, plus they were both boys.

In May 2023, I gave birth to Dylan via cesarean section. It was a love I had never felt before.

It was crazy navigating new motherhood, knowing our second child was due in a few months.

I knew I would love them equally, but I would be able to give them both the same energy and attention they would need?

In November of that year, we flew to be by our surrogate’s side as she gave birth to our baby.

Dylan was six months old when his brother Declan was born.

I was the first person to hold him and I couldn’t believe it – from the darkness of infertility, I was now a mother to two healthy boys.

‘It must be a hoax’

O next day, the boys met for the first time, which was incredible.

But although I had the same love for Declan, he didn’t sleep and screamed a lot.

I was sure it was because I didn’t carry it and the guilt was terrible.

Then he was diagnosed with a milk protein allergy at two months old and it all made sense.

Strangers were confused about how I had two babies, one six months older than the other. But it was online where things really exploded.

I posted on a child care forum, explaining that there was a six month age difference.

People went crazy, saying things like, ‘It must be a hoax’ and, ‘How is this possible?’.

The boys have a very close bond. Dylan loves dancing and Declan loves our dogs.

When they are old enough, I will explain how they became brothers.

I don’t care what people think of the journey we’ve taken.

I look at my two beautiful boys – my ‘twins with a twist’ – and I can’t believe they are mine.”

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