This is the incredible moment premature twins entered the world, cuddling each other tightly. Fully embraced, Aria and Skylar Morgan-Trodden held on to each other while they were delivered by C-section, 10 weeks early. The touching photo which shows their unbreakable bond was captured by a midwife, just as the sisters were born at exactly the same time, and shared by their dads Kyran Trodden, 25, and Ryan Morgan, 28, from Staines, Surrey.
Their proud dads were able to watch the moment their daughters were born and have shared the heart-warming photograph, as part of their rollercoaster surrogacy journey to become dads.
As the identical girls were delivered by their surrogate mother, they can be seen holding on to one another, positioned exactly as they were snuggled in the womb just seconds before. In the photo shared by the couple, the identical twins can be seen clinging onto one another – in the exact same position, they were holding in the womb just moments before.
Kyran and his fiancé Ryan said 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 miracles. Kyran, a preschool deputy manager, and Ryan, a customer service specialist, had a gender reveal and uploaded cute photos on their family Instagram account @themorgantroddens, counting down to the baby’s birth and providing sneak previews of a fashionable nursery and overflowing closets full of pink frills.
However, the pregnancy took a troubling turn when the family was notified at 20 weeks that one of their unborn girls had been diagnosed with TTTS (twin to twin transfusion syndrome), and the parents worried they might lose the other. The surrogate was rushed to the hospital the same day to have laser ablation surgery, which was successful.
Then on 23 November – 10 weeks before the February due date – the girls arrived happy and healthy. 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 daughters 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 was absolutely incredible and they kept us updated every single day with photos and videos.’ 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 into it thinking we were having one baby but at six weeks we found out it was actually twins which was an amazing shock.’’
Kyran and Ryan also hope that sharing their experience will encourage other same-sex couples to try for a family. They 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.’