Mom thinks she’s carrying twins – then doctors see 2nd ultrasound and instantly freeze

You know what they say: If you want to make God laugh, tell Him about your plans.

Miranda and Josh Crawford, from Charlotte, North Carolina, had always wanted three or four children. After trying for more than a year, they finally welcomed their daughter Joslyn, conceived through IVF, in 2009. But it wasn’t long before the couple wanted to give their daughter a sibling, and they turned to IVF again in 2010.

The doctors transferred two embryos into Miranda’s uterus, just as they had the first time. The couple, both registered nurses, went to the doctor for a routine ultrasound six weeks later, and were overwhelmed to discover that they were expecting twins.

However, the ultrasound was unclear, and the couple decided to visit again for a second ultrasound. It was then that the doctor saw FOUR babies in Miranda’s belly.

Each of the two embryos had split, creating two sets of identical twins.

“Lightning struck twice”

As you can imagine, the couple was stunned by the news.

“I was shocked, the doctor was shocked,” Miranda tells ABC News. “Never had that happened in his entire career.”

The couple’s doctor, Dr Jani Jensen, confirms that the miracle conception is extremely unusual.

“For a woman who is less than 35 years old, it is recommended that one or two embryos be transferred into the uterus during a fresh IVF cycle,” Dr Jensen explains. “In this case, it appears that the guidelines were correctly followed, but that lightning struck twice.”

“This is certainly an unusual outcome,” the doctor continues. “I’ve never seen it happen quite like this.”

But while doctors were amazed by the unlikely pregnancy, Miranda and Josh were concerned about the prospect of delivering four healthy babies.

“I wasn’t sure if I was going to have a miscarriage, and I was always thinking that I could go into preterm labor at any moment,” Miranda says.

“We took it day by day,” Josh told ABC News.

The doctors gave the couple the option to abort some of the fetuses, but despite the high risks involved with the pregnancy, the couple were determined to deliver all four of their miracle babies.

On February 4, 2011, Miranda finally delivered their four children: Mia, Madison, Jackson and James. They were born 6 weeks early.

“They were all healthy, between four and a half and five and one-half pounds,” Josh says.

The twins have continued to grow up healthy and happy, and the family of 7 is a tight-knit, happy team!

Watch a clip of Miranda and Josh at home with their babies during the first few days after they were born. This is seriously impressive!

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