This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kristin Lammert, 35, of South Carolina. It has been edited for length and clarity.
My husband, Nick, and I thought it was cute when our first daughter was born on August 25, 2015, on our dog, Koda’s fourth birthday.
But now that our three younger daughters were delivered on the same day in 2018, 2021 and 2024 — we can’t but think that divine intervention was at work.
The day before we had our latest baby, Valentina, my eldest Sophia, 9, wished upon a star that she would arrive healthy on her birthday.
The pregnancy had gone well but I’d been admitted to the hospital a month before my due date because of high blood pressure. I had pre-eclampsia and they were scared that it might develop into eclampsia, which would have put both me and the baby at risk.
Valentina was born on August 25. She was tiny at 5 pounds, 12 ounces, but strong; healthy enough not to need to be in the NICU.
Less importantly, we’d thrown a humongous birthday party for her three sisters the previous week so it wasn’t as if their mom and dad missed their celebration.
The timing was just a coincidence
All my pregnancies have been different. It’s crazy to think they all ended on the same day, three years apart. None of the births were by C-section. I was never scheduled to be induced.
My pregnancies with Sophia and my second daughter Guilana, 6, were relatively straightforward. But, with Mia, now 3, I contracted Covid twice. I also suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum, which caused me to vomit nearly every day. But, to our relief, Mia was born healthy.
As the years went by, Sophia and Guiliana — and then Mia — hoped they’d have a sister on their birthday as the biggest gift of all.
Sophia’s wish on a star came true with Valentina. I think she was worried about me and didn’t want me to be sick any more. She also couldn’t wait to be a big sister for the third time around.
People sometimes ask if we got pregnant intentionally in the late fall with each child. With Sophia, we liked the idea of her being born in August or September because there are no big holidays. So if you could cherry pick a month, we thought it would be fun for the first one.
But the others were conceived around the same time by coincidence. Coordinating the timing is not the way that fertility works.
Our daughters feel unique and special
Another thing that people say to us is, “Oh, the poor kids, having to share a birthday.” But they don’t feel that way at all. We invite a lot of family and friends — we hosted around 70 guests this year — and each of the girls gets their own cake.
They feel like it’s very special because they are exceptional kids.
Meanwhile, Nick contacted the Guinness Book of World Records from the hospital on the day that Valentina, now one month old, was born. We discovered we are one baby away from tying the record for children sharing the same birthday.
Still, the previous parents had a set of multiples and they were different genders. Maybe we’ll achieve a record for having four girls who arrived separately, three years apart.
We’re not planning any more children. Four was always the magic number. Valentina is the missing piece of the puzzle that makes our family lucky and complete.
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