California twins born in different years, 15 minutes apart

Although born just 15 minutes apart, California twins Alfredo and Aylin Trujillo entered the world on different days, months and years. That’s because they were born before and right at midnight on New Year’s Eve.

“It’s crazy to me that they are twins and have different birthdays,” Fatima Madrigal, the twins’ mother, said in statement released by the Natividad Medical Center in Salinas, Ca., where Alfredo and Aylin were born at 11:45 pm on Dec. 31, 2021 and at the strike of 12 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2022. “I was surprised and happy that she arrived at midnight.”

Their doctor described it as “one of the most memorable deliveries of my career.”

“It was an absolute pleasure to help these little ones arrive here safely in 2021 and 2022,” Dr. Ana Abril Arias said. “What an amazing way to start the New Year!”

While twins make up just over three per cent of all births in the U.S., according to the Natividad Medical Center, the chances of having them with different birthdays is about one in two million. Those odds also came up for a Canadian family on New Year’s Eve 2014, when a Toronto-area mother gave birth to twin girls eight minutes apart, just before and after midnight.

In California, Alfredo and Aylin arrived weighing 6 pounds, 1 ounce and 5 pounds, 14 ounces. The fraternal twins join three older siblings.

“I never thought in a million years that I was going to have twins,” their mother added in an interview with ABC News. “I was in shock at first, but I was so happy and I feel so relieved… Everything is possible and every child is a blessing.”