#26. The Beginning
Jalynne and Janelle were born in December 1987 in Lancaster, California, as part of an already big family. They have two older brothers, Johnny and Jeremy, and three sisters named Joanne, Jamie, and Jennifer. The arrival of the twins really changed the dynamic of the house, and they became the princesses of the family.
From the very beginning, the girls did everything together, and somehow liked the same things and acted in a very similar way. Growing up, they slowly realized that they had the same goal in mind. Their older sister Jamie introduced them to the world of gymnastics, and it blew their minds.
#25. Big Dreams
Jamie was actually a member of the American gymnastics team and took part in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games in Australia. Although she didn’t bring home a winning medal, her dreams didn’t fade, and she actually inspired her twin sisters to follow in her footsteps.
Jamie went on to win an Olympic bronze medal, and Jalynne and Janelle started to do gymnastics as well. After finishing high school, the girls joined UCLA and became part of the college’s gymnastics squad. The girls enjoyed some notable success, especially Jalynne.
#24. Success
In fact, Jalynne took home not one, but two national prizes in the floor exercise and all-around categories in 2004. She also was featured in the Top 20 rankings at the USA National Championships. It really seemed that she had a bright future ahead of her in the sports world.
Sadly, one day she injured her back, which made her decide to retire from gymnastics altogether. She went on to get a history degree and left her athletic career behind. Her twin Janelle also decided to do the same, and the two came up with different goals for the rest of their lives.
#23. Finding Love
As usual, the twins somehow ended up doing everything together, so much so that they also found love at the same place at the same time. During their time at UCLA, Janelle met Jason Sergio Leopoldo, and Jalynne started dating Brandon Crawford. The two seemed to find the loves of their lives right then and there.
Both couples had a lot in common. Jalynne and Brandon really hit it off because he was also an aspiring athlete, and he became a baseball player sometime after they began dating. He joined the San Francisco Giants in 2008 and eventually debuted in 2011, becoming a key player in the team.
#22. The Wedding Day
As Brandon’s career became more and more successful, so did his relationship with Jalynne. In November 2011, the happy couple tied the knot in a ceremony in Hawaii. But, of course, Janelle wasn’t so far behind. She also got engaged with Jason and got married not long after that.
However, after getting married, Janelle and her husband moved from California to Arizona, and it was the first time the twins were separated. Although it was difficult at the beginning, the two adapted and visited each other as often as possible. Distance couldn’t really keep them apart!
#21. Always Together
Both of their husbands knew that they came as a package deal and that the twins would always share a special bond that nobody could ever break. As Janelle told Good Morning America in 2018:
“Our family is extremely close and spend a lot of time together,”
“But there is a difference with Jalynne and me. Our husbands joke, ‘If you marry one, you marry the other,’ in the sense that we love being together so much and talking so much.”
#20. The Family Gets Bigger
Soon after getting married, the girls started having children. Jalynne gave birth to three gorgeous babies: Braylyn, Braxton, and Jayden. Not long after, Janelle gave birth to a baby boy. The twins really wanted their children to be close, so they tried to meet as often as possible.
“We feel when we are apart, there is a piece of us missing,” Janelle added. “Our kids already feel this bond as well.” What the pair didn’t know is that, in 2017, something would bring not only them but the entire family much closer than before.
#19. When Tragedy Struck
In 2017, the twins decided they wanted to each have one more kid, and they really wanted to have them at the same time. However, a number of personal tragedies struck the family and made it impossible for them to achieve their goals. In April 2017, their older sister, Jennifer, suddenly passed away.
She had an asthma attack at just 38 years old which was fatal. As the whole family tried to grieve and make sense out of what had transpired, another big blow hit the family. This time, it had to do with Jamie, the ex-Olympic gymnast, and a scandal that had nation-wide coverage.
#18. The Gymnastics Scandal
In 2017, it was discovered that the doctor of the American gymnastics team, Larry Nassar, had assaulted over 150 girls during his career, and many of them were brave enough to come forward and testify against him in trial. One of them was the twins’ older sister, Jamie.
“Late summer of 2016 was when I began to understand Larry had sexually abused me all those years and that his treatments were not legitimate medical procedures,” said Jamie. “I decided to speak up, even though at the time, I had no idea there were other victims. When I came forward in August of 2016, I was attacked on social media.”
#17. Coming Forward
Speaking her truth was extremely difficult for Jamie, especially because she received a lot of backlash on social media at the hands of trolls who didn’t believe her or claimed she was lying. This took a toll not only on her but also on the entire family.
“Instead of backing down, I continue to speak my truth because I couldn’t stand the thought of this happening to one of my nieces, nephews or any other child that may have crossed paths with Larry, or anyone like him,” she continued.
#16. Not Alone
Thankfully, as she didn’t back down, her words inspired many more young women to come forward and speak about what had happened to them. This made it all worth it, and Jamie did not regret speaking up for one minute:
“I wasn’t alone. I’m here today with all these other women, not victims, but survivors to tell you, face to face, that your days of manipulation are over.”
Jamie and her twin sisters became closer than ever after that, and when the trial was over, all the family was ready to move on and focus on their future. Then, in September 2017, after all the setbacks they had experienced, some good news arrived for the family: Jalynne was pregnant again.
#15. Double Surprise
This was going to be Jalynne’s fourth child, so she clearly had no problems conceiving. However, her sister Janelle didn’t have the same luck. After only having one son, she repeatedly tried to get pregnant again for years with no luck. So, she went under IVF treatment in hopes to get pregnant again.
Luckily, soon after Jalynne’s news came out, Janelle found out that the treatment had been successful, and that she was also pregnant. This was the first time in a long time that the family was jumping up and down in joy, and things were finally looking up for them.
#14. Great News
Jalynne explained her reaction to People magazine:
“When I got the text, my face lit up. I got chills in my arm, and then seconds later she called and we were both like ‘Thank you, thank you God.’ It’s making me tear up right now. I was like, ‘This is God’s way of answering our prayers.’”
Not only were the twins pregnant, but it happened at the same time. Now, they were closer than ever, if that was even possible. Just as they did everything together as children, now they could go through this journey at the same time and share one of the most beautiful experiences of their lives.
#13. Childhood Dreams
“Growing up, my twin sister and I talked about how neat it would be to get married together and have babies together,” said Jalynne.
“Well, the marriage part did not work out, but the baby thing sure did!” Janelle continued. “I don’t think I ever imagined how special it would be until the journey began.”
However, there were some setbacks during their pregnancies.
#12. Unexpected Problems
One problem with the births of their respective babies was that the twins lived in different states, and would, therefore, give birth separately. Because their due dates were so close to each other, their family members would not be able to attend both births, which was a huge problem for the girls.
The twins couldn’t imagine giving birth without their parents’ support, let alone having them pick one birth to attend over the other. That is when they decided they needed to do something about it to keep everyone happy.
#11. Problem Solved
The girls talked with their physicians and asked if they could give birth at the same hospital, to which they said yes. Now, it was time for the family to plan a trip to Arizona, where they would both give birth to their babies. With their due dates only weeks away, there was a lot to get ready for.
However, the girls took it one step further. Thanks to the wonders of science, the twins asked their doctors if there was a chance they could have the birth at the same time, and the doctors said yes. They could schedule a C-section for the same day, and that way, they would give birth at the same time.
#10. Setting a Date
“We knew we wanted to have it on the same date so our parents could be there,” Jalynne told People. “The babies were the same gestational age and due within a week of one another.”
The twins were more than happy to do it on the same day, but they had to make an important decision before the big day. They had to decide who would give birth first because they couldn’t do it at the same time. So, what did they decide?
#9. A Big Decision
Their decision was simpler than everyone initially thought, as Jalynne explained in an interview:
“Since my husband only had a few days of paternity leave, Janelle offered me to go first, so we would have a few extra hours with him. Also, I’m two minutes older, and I found out I was pregnant four days earlier, so it made sense.”
It seemed fair, right? After they made the decision, it was time to wait for the big day. The girls spent their last few days of pregnancy together with their family and even did a super adorable pregnancy photoshoot only a week before it was time to give birth.
#8. The Big Day
June 18, 2018, was the day their C-sections were scheduled. As agreed, Jalynne was the first one to go into the delivery room, where she had a baby boy. Only a couple hours later, it was Janelle’s turn, and the same doctor delivered her baby as well. To their surprise, it was also a boy.
They had decided not to learn the gender of the babies beforehand, and they were both ecstatic when they found out that they both had had boys. It was as if the boys were twins that came from different mothers. The babies also looked so much alike that everyone was amazed.
#7. The Recovery
After the two successful C-sections, the twins were put in the same recovery room – is that even a surprise? The two couples loved sharing this moment and never felt closer to each other. It wasn’t just an amazing experience for the twins, but also for their husbands, who had each other to lean on as well.
Brandon made a special post for the twins on the San Francisco Giants page, which got a lot of attention. It is not usual for two sisters, let alone twins, to have babies at the same place, at the same time. That is when their story started spreading and became popular.
#6. A Unique Story
After Brandon’s blog post, different news outlets contacted the twins to learn more about their incredible story, and they were interviewed a few times about it. One person who got a lot of attention as well, surprisingly, was the doctor who delivered the babies.
As Brandon wrote on his post:
“The same doctor delivered Janelle’s baby, also a boy, named Jace. The doctor said it was a first for him. He’d never delivered the babies of two sisters – much less twins – on the same day, back to back. One of my sisters, Jenna, said the babies are ‘twa-sins’ – twin cousins.”
#5. The Babies
What he said in his post was absolutely true: the babies were basically twins. They also looked strikingly alike, and the mothers had the brilliant idea to dress them up the same way. Jalynne’s baby was named Bryson Ryder, and Janelle named her baby Jace.
It was very hard for people to tell the babies apart, except for the mothers. They both knew exactly who their baby was, and how could they not? Still, they were more than happy to have had that experience on the same day, and also to have babies that would share a unique bond with each other forever.
#4. Media Attention
As the story broke, the twins got a lot of attention, and they quickly took to social media to talk about their unique experience and share it with the world.
“Yesterday was a dream come true!” Jalynne wrote on Instagram. “We have always wanted to [be]pregnant together and it happened! My doctor was so amazing to take us both as patients and deliver us same-day! This was one of the best experiences of my life!”
#3. Non-Twin Twins
That special and unique bond that twins share will definitely be present in the cousins’ lives, even if they aren’t really twins. It was clear from the very beginning that there was something special between the two boys and that they would always have each other growing up.
“Bryson and Jace will have a special bond and always share their birthday!” Said Jalynne.
Her Instagram post ended up getting over 12,000 likes and more than 500 comments.
#2. Going Home
After a couple of days at the hospital, it was time for the families to go home. It was a very emotional moment because after spending all those intense days together, they had to say goodbye. Jalynne and Brandon had to go back to California, and the two couples had a very emotional goodbye.
Luckily, the two families adapted well to being apart. Not only that, but the babies were extremely well-behaved. Both of them didn’t cry much, and their siblings were more than happy to have them join the family. All in all, it was a perfect situation for everyone involved.
#1. More Babies?
One question that everyone had for the twins was whether they would do it again or not. Although it was an amazing experience, both of them felt that they had had enough kids and that having shared this wonderful moment was enough for a lifetime.
Jalynne has a total of four kids now and is not looking forward to more. However, Janelle has said that she would love to have four as well, so she has two more to go. Who knows what the future holds, maybe they will do it all over again!