When Jourdan Moore and her husband Matt decided they were finally ready to bring children into the world, doctors told Jourdan she simply wasn't well enough to carry a fetus to term.
She suffers from a particularly serious case of Crohn's disease, a chronic condition that affects the intestines, and one of the only medications that helped Jourdan feel better also made it impossible for her to give birth herself. After trying for years to adopt a child, one of their best friends, Hollie Mentesana, offered to act as a surrogate for an embryo donation and adoption instead.
Couples who undergo in vitro fertilization procedures often have hundreds of unfertilized eggs that they can then donate to families unable to conceive on their own. Jourdan and Matt found an anonymous family doing just that and were thrilled when Hollie tested positive on three different pregnancy tests.
Unfortunately, after just 23 weeks of gestation, they rushed their friend to the hospital with severe abdominal pain. That's when they learned Hollie was already 10 centimeters dilated and would need an emergency C-section.
Jaxson Brave and Cadence Grace were born on September 23, 2015, weighing just barely over a pound each.
They were able to get the babies in a stable condition, but doctors told the parents they should prepare for the worst.
Six days later, they were able to hold Jaxson for the first time and two days after that, they finally held Cadence in their arms as well. Against all odds, they both responded to the skin-on-skin contact with their proud mama and papa.
In a post to their Facebook account documenting their journey to parenthood, Jourdan updated on October 15 explaining just how bittersweet watching her babies' health change every hour as they fought for their lives.
"After 10 years of waiting I am finally a mother! Of twins! I hit the jackpot; I have a son and a daughter! However… my babies are the size of a Starbucks iced coffee bottle. Their organs are extremely immature and their hearts, lungs, livers, kidneys and brains did not plan to be required to function until January 14th, 2016, thirteen weeks from today. I am sincerely overjoyed and utterly scared to death all at the same time."
The non-biological twins spent a total of three months in the neonatal intensive care unit, with Jourdan remaining by their side the entire time, spending five hours each day making skin-to-skin contact.
She only returned to her home once for a couple of hours during their harrowing first months.
Today, the adorable pair is thriving under the care of their incredible parents and doctors and are about to celebrate their first birthday!
They left the hospital on New Year's Eve and while they still had plenty of health issues to battle, both cuties have definitely defied the odds.
Both suffered an eye disease common in premature infants, but after they healed doctors realized Jaxson is short-sighted. Cadence still has underdeveloped lungs and requires oxygen at night and remains on a feeding tube.
Jourdan couldn't help but snap another photo of her little fella with a bottle of Starbucks coffee, this time definitely outweighing it by plenty of pounds.
"Another coffee bottle pic because it brings me joy every time."
Take a look below to see these amazing little fighers' transformation over the past year.
And don't forget to SHARE their inspiring survival story with your loved ones!
