Meet the California twins born in two different years

The Straits Times
​3 January 2016

Twin infants born just as New Year's Champagne corks were popping share the same parents, but different birth years.

Maribel Valencia, of San Diego, California made it to a local hospital on Thursday just in time to give birth to a baby girl - Jaelyn - in the final seconds of 2015, at 11.59pm on Dec 31.

Jaelyn's brother Luis was born about two minutes into 2016, local media reported, at 12.02am on Jan 1.

"We were actually watching the clock," the pleased father - also named Luis - told the local NBC television station.

"We wanted to see if we were one of the first ones" born in the new year.

Both infants, who had not been expected to arrive until later this month, and their mother were reported to be doing well.

According to the hospital, the Valencia family lives in San Diego.

Maribel works as a cashier at the San Diego International Airport and her husband is a diesel mechanic for the United State Navy.

The couple also have another daughter, three-year-old Isabella.

"It's very unusual and it's very special," said nurse Lynnette Coetzee, "and I haven't seen it in all my 34 years of nursing."

She joked that the timing of their births will probably affect the family dynamics, said NBC.

"I think she's the little girl; she's going to be pulling rank the whole time because she's going to be the older one," said Coetzee.

"He's gonna have a hard time living that down."

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