About nine months ago, Sharon Ferreira went to see her family doctor in New Westminster to confirm she was pregnant with her first child.
Ferreira had tried to get an appointment early in the day to avoid running into any of her extended family members, who all go to the same doctor, because she hadn't yet broken the news.
But sure enough, her oldest sister, Maria Larson, was there for her own appointment.
Afterwards they went for lunch, and Ferreira couldn't help but tell her sister the happy news.
When she asked Larson why she'd been to see the doc, Larson said she had been feeling under the weather, but that the doctor had said there was nothing to worry about.
It was at that moment that she wondered if maybe she, too, was going to have some surprising news for her family.
"My brain starts clicking into gear, and I'm like, 'Oh, man, wouldn't that be hilarious?' Sure enough, I go home and take a pregnancy test and I'm pregnant," said Larson, who has four older children ranging in age from four to 15.
Going through the different stages of their pregnancies simultaneously - and gaining the same amount of weight - was an interesting experience, she said.
"This is definitely the most unique experience that we've had together and it's been quite remarkable, actually," said Larson.
Both women were given the same due date - Jan. 3, 2013 - but, as Larson said, she was fully expecting to go into labour before then because her four other children had all come early.
However, much to their surprise, both sisters delivered their sons within an hour of each other on Jan. 2.
Ferreira went into labour on Dec. 31 and finally had Evan by cesarean section at 7:13 p.m. at B.C. Women's Hospital in Vancouver, while Larson gave birth to Daniel at Royal Columbian at 8:04 p.m.
"It's just so random," said Ferreira. "What are the odds of two sisters, who were not planning to have children, having children on the same day within an hour (of each other)?"
Both moms and babies are home and doing well, and looking forward to future combined birthday parties for the "twin cousins," Larson said.
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