While the chances of giving birth to twins increased 72 percent between 1980 and 2018, it’s still pretty rare. About 33 out of every 1,000 births are twins.
And what are the chances of identical twins? Approximately every three or four births out of every 1,000 are identical twins. So again, relatively rare.
When 23-year-old Savannah Combs found out she was pregnant with twins, she was thrilled. And then she learned another rarity, they both had Down syndrome.
Of course, it was emotional news. Savannah and her husband, Justin Ackerman, knew that some people would judge her and her babies because of their condition.
But to Savannah, that’s what makes them incredibly precious.
“It’s very rare what they have, but they’ve been my little gems,” she told News4JAX.
Savannah, who is from Middleburg, Florida, shared her post-pregnancy journey with her daughters Kennadi Rue and Mckenli Ackerman, on TikTok where they quickly gained a following.
In one of her videos, Savannah said she was told to abort her babies because they would not make it.
She decided to keep them and give them a fighting chance.
”Every [prenatal] appointment they were alive was a blessing to me,” Savannah explained.
When she learned they both had Down syndrome, her husband was away at boot camp.
Savannah was 29 weeks pregnant when she was admitted to the hospital, and delivered her daughters. The identical twin girls, Kennadi Rue and Mckenli Ackerman, were born on May 12, 2021.
The twins arrived two months before their due date, so they had to spend several weeks in the NICU before they came home.
They’re called mono di twins, meaning that they had their own sacs, but they shared the same placenta, meaning that they were going to be identical,” she said.
“Mo di twins as it is, it’s like very rare. And then you throw Down syndrome on top of it, it’s like one in 2 million.”
Despite their rare condition, Savannah said they are just like any other child.
“They have feelings. They have a beating heart. They know how to talk. They know how to do things you do. They will get there,” she said.
“Like I said, it may be a step behind but they’re going to do it. I’ve learned these kids are feisty little things and happy little things.”
Here’s when Kate Middleton is going to appear
The question of what is going on behind closed doors at Windsor is one of the most asked questions during the last couple of months, or better said since Kate Middleton‘s last public appearance.
The Princess of Wales had undergone a “planned” abdominal surgery in mid-January and ever since, her exact health state or whereabouts haven’t been discussed by the Palace except for the statement which came as a for of reassurance that she was “doing well,” and that they won’t be sharing any details except when they feel something truly significant takes place.
The people of Britain, as well as those from around the world who closely follow the situation involving Kate and the rumors surrounding her state, were given a glimpse of hope when the Minister of Defense confirmed that she would be attending the Trooping the Colour dress rehearsal ceremony on June 8, ahead of the main event on June 15.
However, it later turned out that it was a mistake and that Kate’s potential return to royal duty event has been deleted from an Army website. As per GB News, Kensington Palace was “not consulted” regarding the Princess of Wales’ appearance.
“It seems the MoD jumped the gun with this announcement and that Kensington Palace was not consulted…we will have to wait to see if the PoW will be well enough to attend,” Telegraph royal reporter Victoria Ward posted on X.
What’s most, the event’s overview mentioned Kate’s presence multiple times.
“Trooping the Colour reviewed by Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales is identical to Trooping the Colour reviewed by His Majesty The King,” “Trooping the Colour reviewed by Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales also includes 250 soldiers from the Foot Guards,” and “The soldiers will be inspected by Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales, Colonel Irish Guards.”
The site removed every information related to Kate and the event as well as her photo on the site’s landing page.
Kate hasn’t been seen in public for a long period of time, which is very unusual for a royal of her rank.
The public could last see her on a photo taken by TMZ, which some claimed was staged.
She also posted a photo herself on Mother’s Day on which she could be seen together with her children, but it was later determined the photo had been edited at parts which led to the news agencies to issue “kill notices,” which are advisory notices to remove or not use a specific photo.
“It appears that the source has manipulated the image,” the Associated Press notification read.
They also released a statement, saying, “The Associated Press initially published the photo, which was issued by Kensington Palace. The AP later retracted the image because at closer inspection, it appears that the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet AP’s photo standards. The photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand.
Although the Palace didn’t comment on the edited photo, Kate herself decided to explain why the image had “flaws.”
On her and William’s official X account, she wrote, “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C.”
Kensington Palace has later confirmed it “would not be reissuing the original unedited photograph of Kate and her children.”
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