A young mum has revealed she only found out she was having twins a week before giving birth.
28-year-old Basetsana Moeketsi from Johannesburg, South Africa, didn’t know she was pregnant until halfway through her pregnancy, but was given another surprise day before she gave birth.
“I didn’t have a bump or anything,” she explained. ‘I only started noticing it when I was five months old.
‘I started feeling sick so I went to the doctor. I have a three-year-old, so I’d been pregnant before and this was nothing like that.’
However, blood tests showed Basetsana was in her second trimester – and the scan showed a single baby boy.
Basetsana Moeketsi (photo) only found out a week before she gave birth that she was expecting twins
“There was nothing irregular and no signs of pregnancy,” she said.
‘As my pregnancy progressed I was still not visible, but when I was about eight months old my belly grew dramatically.
‘The doctors said the bump probably looked bigger because I’m so small – I’m 4ft 4in – but they wanted to refer me to a specialist to be on the safe side in case there was excess fluid in my uterus.
‘The moment the specialist saw me, he said: ‘You are pregnant with twins.’
‘I was overwhelmed. There were mixed emotions from the pregnancy itself and then the twins. It was surprise on top of surprise.
‘I was preparing for one boy and bought boys’ clothes only to find out it was a fraternal twin and the second was a girl.’
The last scan showed two heads and a week after discovering she was having twins, Basetsana was booked for a caesarean section and gave birth to Miracle and Blessing.
Basetsana attended three ultrasound appointments before the specialist’s scan, but Miracle hid behind her brother and was not visible.
The blood tests showed that Basetsana was five months pregnant and the scan (photo) showed a single baby boy
The 36-week scan (pictured) shows two babies for the first time – just a week before Basetsana gave birth
Basetsana (right) holds Blessing while her partner Gabriel (left) holds his twin sister Miracle. Their first daughter Adorable (center) stands between them
Basetsana (middle) had only bought clothes for a little boy, but came home from the hospital with twins
The twins’ big sister Cute (center) is always ‘happy to be around them’ – and loves playing with her siblings
The twins’ father, Gabriel, 30, comes from a family of six twins and thirteen children from one mother.
Basetsana said: ‘He wasn’t surprised that they were twins, but it was clearly a shock. He was so happy.’
Miracle and Blessing, now one year old, are fraternal twins, but Basetsana still had trouble telling them apart.
“They looked identical,” she said. ‘I literally had to label their nappies to tell them apart and I remembered I only had boys’ clothes which made it worse.
“My first daughter, Cute, is so happy to be around them; they’re like triplets!’
Basetsana added: “I never thought about having three children. I didn’t even think I wanted more than one. When you become a mother for the first time, everything becomes so overwhelming.
‘I didn’t even get a chance to wish for more babies, babies just arrived!
‘You don’t just find twins in every household. They are a blessing.”
The twins’ father, Gabriel (right) comes from a family of six twins – and was equally surprised
Miracle and Blessing, now one year old, are fraternal twins, but their mother Basetsana still had trouble telling them apart
The couple said they weren’t trying to have more babies, but ‘babies just arrived’ – pictured in a family photo
Inspired by her experiences, the mother of three has written and self-published a book titled And When You Pray Tonight
Basetsana continued; “All I can say is that everything happens for a reason. Mentally you think you’re not ready yet, but there’s a reason why you’re having twins.
‘It’s only a matter of time before you’re convinced you can do it and they bring so much joy.
“There’s nothing easy in life, but if there’s one thing I won’t regret, it’s being their mother.”
Basetsana has a total of 467,000 followers on social media and told her story to her followers.
The experience motivated her to write and self-publish a book entitled And When You Pray Tonight. Each page provides the reader with prayer guidance and inspiration.
She said: “It started as tweets about my personal prayer and then I framed it as if I was talking to someone else.
“I told people what to pray for, and I turned it into a book that is sold worldwide.”