A birth of twins with 87 days between the two has been confirmed to have smashed the previous Guinness World Record for the “longest interval between the births of twins.”

For Maria Jones-Elliott, it had been one of the hardest pregnancies ever. Not only was she pregnant with twins, but one of the girls decided to pop out a lot sooner than the normal nine and a half months. She has taken to calling them her “little miracles,” mainly because Amy and Katie were born with an unheard of gap of 87 days.

Their incredible births have been officially recognized as new Guinness World Records. The previous record was 84 days, held by Peggy Lynn of Pennsylvania. Doctors had told Maria and husband Chris they achieved the medical equivalent of winning the lottery. What’s truly heartwarming is that both the girls survived and are reportedly quite healthy.

However, the journey wasn’t easy at all for Maria, who already has two other children. The dangerously premature arrival of Amy as Katie decided to complete her term in the womb clinging to existence has taken a toll on the entire family, said Maria,

“I call the girls our little miracles. As I held Amy for the first time I stroked my bump and prayed to God. I just wanted my girls to be together and safe and well.” “Usually you experience nothing but joy at the birth of a new baby, but it was so achingly bitter-sweet as both of their lives hung in the balance. Amy was fighting for life in an incubator and Katie was struggling to survive in my womb. It was the hardest three months of our lives. But Chris kept saying, ‘Where there’s life there’s hope.’ “

Apparently bearing twins is quite common in the family, revealed Maria.

“I always felt I was going to have twins – even when I found out I was pregnant Chris said ‘that’ll be twins, then’ as they run in the family.”

Sure enough, during a routine ultrasound, Maria witnessed a clear line going through the fetus, which the nurse revealed is an indicator of healthy and separated twins. The pregnancy went relatively smoothly till 23 weeks and five days. That’s when Maria started experiencing intense pain.

Maria was then dealt the devastating blow of being told that she was in labor and both her babies could die. Perhaps little Amy was all too eager to come into the world. However, Katie was apparently quite comfortable and must have decided to stay back. That’s when Maria took the decision of staying put at the hospital and walk out only after holding two healthy baby girls.

Fortunately, Katie developed normally, while Amy successfully conquered life in the incubator. After completing the necessary term, Maria was induced into labor and out came a healthy baby girl, not knowing her twin sister was here almost three months earlier.

[Image Credit: Outrage Post]