Doctors put the odds of conceiving two sets of identical twins at one in 100,000 — which makes Simone and John Burstow very special. The parents of 4-year-old boys Harrison and Oliver welcomed identical twin daughters Evie and Georgia on September 4, 2016.
Identical twins result from a single fertilized egg randomly splitting in two. The chance of having identical twins is not affected by the history of the family, according to Babycenter.com.
The Brisbane, Australia-based mom, 32, who conceived naturally, learned she was expecting a second set of multiples at her six-week ultrasound. “I was laughing and crying!” Simone tells Us Weekly. Her sons, Harrison and Oliver, were unfazed. “I think they thought it was somewhat normal to have babies two a time,” she says. “They weren’t particularly amazed or impressed.”
Though Simone is confident she can tell Evie and Georgia apart thanks to a slight difference in their head shape, she’s not yet ready to remove the girls’ hospital tags. “I just want to make sure we don’t mix them up!” admits Simone. “My husband admits to having no idea who is who.”
While Simone and John were initially overwhelmed at the thought of four children, they wouldn’t have it any other way. “The best part about twins is watching their bond develop right from the start,” she tell Us. “Even with the girls being a couple of weeks old, they hold hands when they are tandem feeding and just look at each other when they’re lying down.”
Gushes Simone: “It makes all the hard work worthwhile.”
