Mom who was expecting daughter shocked to welcome twin sons

By Yi-Jin Yu

A North Carolina couple has welcomed their second set of twins a year after welcoming their first set of twins.

Mom Angelia Tutt told "Good Morning America" she was convinced she and her husband Elliott McNeil, who are already parents to a 6-year-old daughter and 13-month-old twin sons, were expecting a second daughter this time around.

"I had dreams that I was holding a girl with little pink bows. I was ready. I was picking out girl names and everything," the 29-year-old recalled.

Cone Health

Angelia Tutt and her husband Elliott McNeil welcomed their second set of twins – Kendrick and Kairo – at Cone Health Women’s & Children’s Center at Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro, North Carolina.

But Tutt said they were both shocked when they received the news that she was pregnant again with not just one child, but twins.

"It was definitely a surprise. We both expected just one baby and then when they called and told me that it was twins again, I literally froze on the phone call … and I just started crying," Tutt said. "It was happy tears but I was just shocked."

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Angelia Tutt with her newborn son Kendrick.

The odds of having twins is low, about 3% of all births, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a 2022 CDC report noted the rate of twin births in particular have declined since 2014.

Twins run in Tutt's family. She told "GMA" that both her grandmother and great-grandmother had twins and then her mom had two sets of twins too, including Tutt and her fraternal twin brother.

Tutt gave birth to her second set of fraternal twins – Kendrick and Kairo – via Cesarean section on March 3 at Cone Health Women's & Children's Center at Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro, North Carolina. At the hospital, Tutt and her twins were cared for by other twins as well, including her doctor, a nurse and a respiratory therapist. The twin boys both weighed 5 pounds and 8 ounces and are now home after spending two weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit.

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Elliott McNeil holds his newborn son Kairo.

"They've been adapting pretty well. I'm pretty sure they are trying to figure out what the loud noises [are] with the other kids," Tutt said.

Angelia Tutt

Angelia Tutt and Elliott McNeil are also parents to three older children – a 6-year-old daughter Karlie and 13-month-old twin sons Elliott and Zion.

Even though the mom of five is busier than ever, she said she's excited about having a full house.

"I know it's just going to be an adventure with them," Tutt said.

She added, "Having twins is really not as hard as people think it is. It's really just like having one baby. You just have to do everything twice."