A Texas couple expecting their second child got a big surprise when they found out they were also expecting their third in a rare case of superfetation — getting pregnant while already pregnant.
Cara and Blake Winhold wanted to expand their family after their now 3-year-old son, Wyatt, was born.
Their next three pregnancies ended in miscarriage, one of which, Cara said, almost killed her.
“They told me that if I would've waited another 30 minutes at home, I probably would've died here,” she recalled.
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When the couple got pregnant again in March 2021, they said they didn’t have the excitement that typically comes with news of a pregnancy.
“It’s tough to kind of believe it after, you know, you lost several, especially with how traumatic hers was,” Blake Winhold said.
At five weeks, a sonogram showed Cara was carrying one child. A second scan weeks later revealed more.
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“She said, ‘OK, there’s the heartbeat, nice and strong,’ and she's like, ‘Well, let’s check out the other one,’” Cara explained. “I cried. I was shocked.”
“I was just basically speechless,” Blake said.
This isn't a typical "twin" tale: The Winholds say their doctor told them that the boys were conceived about a week apart. It's a rare process called superfetation, when a second, new pregnancy occurs during an existing one.
According to Dr. Lisa Thiel, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Spectrum Health in Michigan, there are only a few confirmed cases.
“Superfetation is when a second pregnancy implants a few days or weeks after an initial pregnancy occurs. A new egg is fertilized by a new sperm,” Thiel told TODAY Parents. “The reason this is so rare is because hormones are released by the woman’s body to prevent further ovulation and a thick mucous is created at the cervix to prevent any further sperm from entering the uterus at that time."
“Although they were born at the same time, they're technically twins. They were two different conceptions,” Blake said.
“With everything that's happened to us, they're a miracle to me, to both of us,” Cara said.
Twins Colson and Cayden were born in October just six minutes apart, “but they look like different-age babies,” Blake said.
Colson wears clothes meant for an 18- to 24-month-old child. Cayden wears clothes meant for a 6- to 9-month-old.
At eight months old, both are healthy and happy with a birth story for the ages.
“It’s just kind of taught me to let things happen as they're supposed to,” Cara said.
