Doctors at a Halifax hospital witnessed a rare event when twin boys were born eight days apart.

Edonna Bean first found out in June that she was having fraternal twins. Bean, who lives in Bermuda with her husband Ryan, was airlifted to IWK Health Centre in Halifax on Nov. 5 because of its world-class facilities.

She says the special care baby unit in Bermuda wasn’t able to accommodate her as facilities were stretched to the max.

Two weeks after arriving in Halifax, Bean gave birth to the first twin, Emyr, weighing in at just one pound, 14 ounces.

He was premature, but Bean was excited, after having endured a pregnancy scare earlier. In October, while Bean was just 18 weeks pregnant, one of the twins’ amniotic sacs ruptured and Bean was told she would likely miscarry.

As far as Bean was concerned, Emyr’s arrival was a miracle.

All that remained now was for the second twin to make his grand entrance. Turns out he had a different plan.

For eight days, Bean’s other son refused to leave the womb. Finally, Bean gave birth to her second twin, Esai.

Dr. Michiel van den Hof, a maternal fetal medical specialist at IWK, said that it is incredibly rare for twins to be born at two separate births, adding he has only seen it happen one other time in his 20 years at IWK.

“We had a mother who was highly motivated,” he told CTV. “We have world class medical teams. Our neonatal unit is world class.”

Bean’s husband will fly to Halifax next week to meet his sons for the first time. While doctors are not sure when they will be able to return to Bermuda, Bean says she’s looking forward to the day when she’ll be able to tell her boys the story of how they came into the world.

With a report from CTV’s Alyse Hand