Shortly after giving birth to her son, TikToker Lorena Hinnawi learned she was pregnant with a girl. Now, Hinnawi has gone viral sharing the experience of having babies just 11 months apart.
Coming home from the hospital with one baby,” Hinnawi captioned one video. “Just to find out I’m pregnant again . . . Now my baby has a baby. I can’t wait to watch them grow up together.”
In a video that has received more than 300,000 views, Hinnawi said Massimo arrived on Nov. 27, 2020, and Camila on Oct. 26, 2021. She dubbed the siblings “Irish twins,” as they were born within 12 months of each another.
Celebrity moms who gave birth to Irish twins include Britney Spears and Tori Spelling.
In another video, Hinnawi lists the comments people have made to her and her husband when they reveal they have two kids so close together.
“WOW, you guys didn’t waste any time,” was one remark.
“I don’t know how you do it,” was another comment, as well as, “Oh god, you must have your hands full.”
And TikTokers also flooded the comments to share their own experiences with Irish twins.
“My mum has 6 kids and three are under three,” another wrote.
“This happened to me 10 months apart, boy and girl,” one said.
The term “Irish twins” refers to one mother having two children who were born 12 months or less apart. It originated in the 1800s as a way to poke fun at Irish Catholic immigrant families who didn’t have access to birth control.
The use of Irish twins was meant to look down on the people and accuse them of having poor self-control, little education, and no access to health resources like birth control. The term is still used today, but many would agree that it’s not appropriate and is steeped in disrespect.
Regardless of what term they use to describe it, some women choose to have their children very close in age. Several celebrities like Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, Tori Spelling, and Heidi Klum, have Irish twins.
They are not as common today – a rare occurrence to find an Irish twin. For a person to have an Irish twin, they need to have two children born within 12 months of each other.