A woman who spent over £30k to have her dream baby has told how she had 'twins with a twist' after falling pregnant at the same time as her surrogate.
Margo, 43, had lost hope after experiencing multiple miscarriages and a full-term stillbirth - and was over the moon when her sister Meena offered to be her surrogate.
Margo and her husband Ian were desperate to have a child - but feared it could never happen.
Mum of two Meena fell pregnant straight away with one of the embryos retrieved via IVF, which cost £31,000.
The couple was so overjoyed, that they took a babymoon’ to Sayulita, Mexico, to celebrate - where Margo fell pregnant.
Incredibly the two sisters ended up giving birth just four days apart.
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Margo, who is now mum to Sofia and Austin, 22 months, said: “It’s been an unbelievable journey, and we are so happy to be parents.
“I suffered my first stillbirth in 1997, my baby was born at 27 weeks and only lived for 12 hours.
"After meeting Ian, we sadly suffered seven losses before our double rainbow babies. We experienced five losses before getting pregnant with our son Olivier, who was sadly stillborn at 41 weeks.
"We had one more miscarriage after that before deciding to call it quits. The doctors could not give me a reason why the pregnancy losses kept occurring. It was absolutely devastating.
“After my sister Meena offered us this amazing gift, we went through three rounds of IVF costing us $50,000. We were over the moon when we found out it had worked.
“When Meena fell pregnant, Ian and I went to Mexico on a vacation to spend time together while also letting my sister be in the space she needed.
“We were relaxed, happy and just going with the flow. I was open to miracles, and that is exactly what happened.
“Somehow, I got pregnant at the same time as Meena. We never imagined this would be possible.”
Spiritual healer and medium Margo met fine artist Ian back in 2012, with their friendship soon blossoming into romance, and in 2014 they moved in together and began trying for a baby, before tying the knot in 2019.
But the couple’s emotional six-year journey to becoming parents was a difficult one paved with disappointment and heartache.
In May 2017, Margo – who was 41 weeks pregnant – delivered a stillborn baby named Olivier.
The following year, the couple were devastated when they were given the news that the baby Margo was carrying – her sixth pregnancy – did not have a heartbeat.
Margo said: “We had no idea how hard the journey would be to becoming parents.
“We got pregnant with our son Olivier, but sadly it ended in a full-term stillbirth in 2017. That was a huge blow for us, we were absolutely devastated.
“We got pregnant five more times after that, which sadly all ended in miscarriages. The doctors had no explanation as to why they kept happening.
“After the sixth loss, we met with our family and told them the news. That was when Meena offered us this amazing gift to carry a baby for us.
“I was totally blown away and left speechless. I burst into tears and just hugged her.
“It was such a selfless and courageous act, we will be eternally grateful to her.”
Meena is Margo’s foster sister and was taken in by Margo’s parents as a teenager, with the pair growing up together like sisters.
She had been there throughout the couple’s pregnancy journey and shared their heartache over the losses they had experienced.
Meena recalls how she offered to be Margo’s surrogate while the pair were casually doing dishes.
The educational assistant said: “After Olivier passed away, I wanted to suggest that they get a surrogate, but it was too soon to talk about that.
“At the time I thought maybe I should be their surrogate. I knew it would be amazing and I really wanted to do it for them.
“Some time later, on our family summer get together, Margo announced to us that she again had a miscarriage. She was devastated and was feeling hopeless.
“I met her in the kitchen while doing dishes, and we had a nice sister to sister talk. I offered to be her surrogate, and it all went from there.
“Before all this happened, I actually had a dream that Margo and I stood by the Christmas tree with our pregnant bellies.
“Then Margo called me up and told me my dream came true. She was pregnant too.
“We both were over the moon with excitement, joy and happiness. I feel thankful for being part of their journey.”
Meena gave birth to Sofia Grace Sheldon on the 16th of June 2020, while her brother Austin Olivier Sheldon was delivered via C-Section by Margo four days later.
The couple are now happier than ever with the ‘double rainbow babies’, now 22 months, they thought they might never have.
Margo said: “Austin is very chilled out, relaxed and mellow, while Sofia is very alert, active and social. They get along really well and are the best of friends.
“It’s been such an incredible journey and we couldn’t be happier with our little ones.
“Ian and I had always wanted to have children, and so it feels like all our dreams had come true."
