Most people who want multiple kids expect it to take a few years to get to their goal, and some joke that they’d get to their ideal family count faster if they could get pregnant with twins.
But it was no joke when new mom Stephanie Hansen, 32, of Washington realized she was pregnant again in 2020, just 13 weeks after giving birth to her first child, a girl named Daphne.
Daphne was born on Jan. 28, 2020, and shortly after, single mom Hansen was in a new relationship and wanted to get back on birth control, but she had to take a routine test first.
“I was in a newborn fog, and [then] there was the excitement of this new relationship,” she told “Today.” “I was just adjusting to everything.”
“In order to get on birth control, I had to take a pregnancy test.”
But she never got her birth control because that test came back positive.
“2020 was a big year,” she captioned a video on TikTok that showed the positive pregnancy test, an ultrasound showing she was pregnant with twins and her holding Daphne and sporting a pregnancy belly, with the text “3 days before they were born, at 37 weeks.”
A lot of people would have balked at the situation. Some would have considered terminating (and commenters on Hansen’s social media accounts had the gall to mention that to her), but Hansen prepared herself for the challenge of a lifetime.
Despite the timing, despite the fact that she’d be going from zero to three within the span of a year, she chose life and now has three beautiful girls.
Hansen was sad that Daphne wouldn’t get her undivided attention for much longer and had to process feelings of guilt, but she pressed on.
On Dec. 8, 2020, twins Rubie and Penelope were born, and while the going certainly hasn’t been easy, Hansen has said it’s been incredibly rewarding.
“It’s total chaos,” she said. “But it’s the best chaos.”
As to the incredibly short time between giving birth and conceiving again, one OB-GYN confirmed to “Today” that it is actually possible for some women to start ovulating again a mere six weeks after giving birth.
“After pregnancy, women aren’t necessarily cognizant of what their cycle is,” said Dr. Christine Greves from Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies in Orlando, Florida. “But if you got pregnant once, it’s possible to get conceive again, even if you don’t think you’re ovulating.”
The twins’ father and Hansen are no longer together, but she said the two are navigating co-parenting.
“When we broke up, I was devastated,” she said. “But I said to myself, ‘I’ve got this. We’re not going to sit around in our pajamas crying. We can sink or swim.'”
As for the three girls, they’re inseparable, and Daphne (now 2 years old) took to the twins (now 15 months old) right away.
“All Daphne wanted to do was touch them,” Hansen said. “They are the Three Musketeers. They’re on the same schedule. They eat, bathe and play together. They share a room.”
“It’s not always easy. But I am the happiest I’ve ever been in my entire life. These kids are the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.