In 2021 When Savannah Combs from Florida found out that she was pregnant with twins, the first-time mom was over the moon with happiness.
Later doctors told her and her husband that the couple would become parents to identical twins with Down Syndrome. The parents were shocked and emotional at the same time and initially got worried about their babies.
According to Savannah, she cried thinking about all the people who would judge them and their babies for their condition. But then she came to terms with the news and realized that her babies would be so unique and rare as the chances of having identical twins are 3 or 4 in 1000.
“It’s very rare what they have, but they’ve been my little gems,” she told News4JAX. “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.”
“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,” she added.
The 23-year-old mom from Middleburg, Florida, welcomed Kennadi Rue and Mckenli Ackerman in May 2021. The girls are two years old now, and since their birth, their parents have been sharing their journey on TikTok – their account has over 264K followers, and followers love their day-to-day updates.
“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. 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,” Justin told the news outlet.
The doting parents regularly post different videos about their little ones and want to let other parents know that despite their rare condition, such babies can lead normal lives.
“They’re just like us. I’m not going to treat them any differently because they have Down syndrome,” said Combs.
In one of her TikTok videos, Savannah revealed at one point during her pregnancy, she was told to abort the babies as doctors thought they wouldn’t survive. However, she refused and decided to take the risk. The girls were born premature – they arrived five months earlier than their due date.
”Every [prenatal] appointment they were alive was a blessing to me,” said Savannah.
After their birth, Kennadi and Mckenli spent a few weeks in the NICU before doctors allowed them to go home.
“I’m going to let them know that they’re just like us, and they’re going to get there as long as they put their minds to it,” Savannah said in her video.
Reacting to one of her posts on social media, one person told Savannah if she were in her place, she would give up the babies and put them up for adoption.
”I wouldn’t want those babies; if mine came out like that, they would be straight up for adoption,” the commenter said.
However, the proud mommy had a perfect reply for the person.
“I said, good thing they weren’t born to you and were born to me. God knew what he was doing by giving these babies to the right parents who would love them regardless,” she wrote on her Facebook.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
