This is the adorable moment premature twins cuddle each other just after being born.
The 10 week premature sisters, Aria and Skylar Morgan-Trodden, were delivered by C-section, with one reassuringly wrapping her tiny arms around her sibling.
The touching photo which shows their unbreakable bond was captured by a midwife, just as the sisters were born at exactly the same time.
Aria and Skylar, delivered by their surrogate mother, were born positioned exactly as they were snuggled in the womb just seconds before.
Their proud dads were able to watch the moment their daughter’s were born and have shared the heart-warming photograph as part of their rollercoaster surrogacy journey to become dads.
The parents from Staines, Surrey, have documented the girl’s birth and recent homecoming and hope that by sharing their experience, they can encourage other same sex couples to try for a family.
Kyran Trodden, 25 and his fiancé Ryan Morgan, 28, say that it is a “dream come true” and they are “truly blessed”.
The couple became dads for the first time in November, after a relative selflessly offered to carry a baby for them.
They excitedly embraced every moment of their pregnancy, finding out at six weeks they were expecting not one, but two little babies.
Kyran, a deputy manager at a preschool and Ryan, a customer service advisor, organised a gender reveal and shared adorable snaps on their family Instagram account @themorgantroddens, counting down to the arrival and showing sneak peeks of a stylish nursery and bursting wardrobes filled with pink frills.
But the pregnancy took a worrying turn when at 20 weeks the family were told their unborn daughters were diagnosed with TTTS – twin to twin transfusion syndrome – and the couple feared that we were going to lose one daughter.
The couple’s surrogate was rushed to hospital the same day, to have laser ablation surgery which was successful.
Kyran said: “We were very anxious and scared but the hospital staff were absolutely amazing.
“Every week afterwards we had a scan to ensure they were doing ok.”
Their twin girls were born 10 weeks early, arriving at 29 weeks on November 23 – long before their early February due date.
Skylar was born weighing just 2lbs 2oz with her sister Aria, weighing just 2lbs 4oz.
The couple met five years ago and embarked on their journey to become parents three years into their relationship.
They were overwhelmed when their daughter’s arrived, premature but healthy – but heartbreakingly, their joy was short lived when Kyran tested positive for Covid the day after the birth and the new dads were forced to isolate.
Kyran said: “We were heartbroken to not be able to be there with them, but the staff were absolutely incredible and they kept us updated every single day with photos and videos.”
After spending five weeks in hospital, the mono identical girls came home on Boxing Day and Kyran said their homecoming was ‘the best Christmas gift they could have asked for.’
He added: “The whole journey was amazing, we had our ups, downs, laughs and tears, and jam packed full of emotions. It really tested us, we felt every emotion.
“Obviously we went in to it thinking we were having one baby but at six weeks we found out it was actually twins which was an amazing shock.”
The couple who were due to marry last September but had to cancel due to lockdown, hope their story they will encourage more gay couples who want to become parents.
The couple added: “To our surrogate, we will be forever in debt to her and can’t thank her enough for the gift of two precious lives.
“We thank her so much, there are no words that can ever truly tell her how grateful we are.”