When it comes to sibling shenanigans, Leo and Logan Rivera don’t stand a chance.
The identical twin brothers haven’t even been born yet. But parents Lenae Walton and Leonardo Rivera are well-versed in twin trickery.
They're twins themselves.
Both have fraternal siblings: Walton a sister, Rivera a brother. The couple conceiving identical twins is pretty remarkable.
“I say it's an act of God, it's such a slim chance of happening,” Rivera, 24, said of the babies due via C-section May 4.
Dr. Cristiano Dias Jodicke agreed this is a rarity. The maternal and fetal medicine specialist at Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies in Orlando is Walton’s obstetrician. Twins make up 3 percent of live births in the U.S., he said.
"It’s pretty uncommon," Jodicke said of having patients who are twins themselves expecting twins. "It’s a good story...I’m pretty happy for her. She’s doing pretty well."
Walton, 29, was stunned, too. The couple figured a baby was a few years off. And now a double bundle of joy is on the way.
Walton said it's a source of fascination for anyone they share their story with. Not to mention a springboard for inappropriate questions.
"They always ask, 'Was it natural?' " Walton said. "Or they tell me, ‘You have twins because you’re a twin.’ "
There are even people who argue with her that "twins can’t have twins," Walton said. "It's like talking to a brick wall."
What are the chances?
It's no secret that multiple births have been on the rise for a few decades now.
"In 1980, it used to be one in 53 infants," said Jodicke, who has 7-year-old fraternal twin boys himself. "Now, it’s one in 29 infants."
There's a few reasons why. One? Women are having babies later in life. The theory is that as women age, their chances of ovulating twice in a month are upped. (Two fertilized eggs equals two babies.)
Another factor is assisted reproductive technology -- in vitro fertilization, fertility drugs and more. Obesity increases the chance for multiples, and race and geography seem to play a role, too. In the U.S., the fraternal twin rate is 8 in 1,000, Jodicke said. Japan has the lowest rate, with 1.3 in 1,000; Nigeria has the highest, with 50 in 1,000.
"Interesting, depending on the area of the world, it changes the rate," Jodicke said. "And I’m talking about fraternal, dizygotic – two different eggs that are fertilized."
And then there's good old family history. And the expectant mom's family tree plays a bigger role than the father's when it comes to carrying on a twin legacy.
"What’s interesting is it’s more the mother that contributes for that than the father," said Jodicke, whose wife has twins in her family tree, too.
But that means little when it comes to identical twins, which account for only 15 percent of twin pregnancies worldwide.
"They are uncommon," Jodicke said. "We don’t know why one egg splits. To tell the truth, no one knows that. It seems to be actually like an error (in the conception process)."
Their story
Whatever the reason, there's a cool story behind these babies.
Walton and Rivera met two years ago while working on Patrick Air Force Base. He was a laborer, she a housekeeper for military lodging. She found his shyness off-putting initially.
"I was like, 'He's so mean, I can't work with him,' " Walton said with a laugh. "I didn't like him."
"I kept to myself," a good-natured and soft-spoken Rivera said. "She'd try to ask me questions."
Walton takes the opportunity to rib him, asking, "What's wrong with you?"
They began chatting at the base's bowling alley one night, Walton introducing twin sister, Tenae. Rivera revealed he was a twin, too. That was it.
"He's a really good guy," Walton said during an interview at their small, two-bedroom Melbourne apartment. "I hardly have any complaints about him."
This story originally appeared on Florida Today.
Sitting on the couch, their home bursting with various baby garb and gifts, Walton faces Rivera to say, "You must be from another planet," before turning back to the reporter. "I couldn't let him go."
Rivera lives with Walton and her sons Eddie, 8, and Darvon, 6, in Melbourne. Marriage and another baby were eventual dreams for the pair. She now works as an instructional assistant at Palm Bay Elementary; Rivera is in electronic retail sales at Walmart.
Last fall, Walton admits she was "really, really moody. Extremely," she said. "I have never been like that before."
When asked if he noticed, Rivera cautiously answered.
"Yeah," he said.
After some laughter, he offered, "She was eating a lot and a lot, and she was just in a bad mood."
An at-home pregnancy test was positive. Soon, an ultrasound technician confirmed the pregnancy -- and told her she saw two heartbeats.
"I wasn't shocked but I didn't expect it," Walton reflected.
Then they called Rivera in.
"They showed me the picture, and the doctor said she saw two," said Rivera, who admits he began crying out of happiness. "And I was like, 'Wait a minute. You mean twins?' 'Yeah'...I was just so surprised and happy because I've always wanted a family. It's been my dream to have a family of my own. In my wildest dreams, (I always thought) I'd love to have twins. God gave me that. I felt blessed."
Rivera proposed to Walton last Christmas and she accepted, but they expect to concentrate on getting settled with the twins before any wedding. They plan to move into a bigger place soon.
"The babies, they kick all the time, like nonstop," she said, stopping to run her hand over her belly at times. "I’m like, do they ever sleep? The kicks are stronger. They're really really powerful. It's amazing."
More than twins
Rivera still gets mistaken for his twin.
"(People will say,) 'Hi, Miguel,' " Rivera said. "And I just answer. After a day or two, they'll see both of us (and figure it out)."
Walton's also hoping people will see the twins as separate people.
"People would always classify us as the same individual," Walton said. "I could not stand that."
The names will hopefully help.
"Our names are too close," Lenae said of sister Tenae -- noting the mixups at school, doctor's appointments and the pharmacy. "We still have problems with that now."
Tenae Walton looks forward to getting to know her nephews, and she's prepared for the inevitable twin scheming.
"I know they might play tricks on me," Tenae said. "Because me and my sister still do that over the phone with my older sister and our friends."
But can the Walton sisters still pull off fooling the family?
"Yeah," she said with a devilishly delighted giggle.
Time will tell if Leo and Logan have the same skills.
Paulson is FLORIDA TODAY's Momsense columnist and the editor of Space Coast Parent, FLORIDA TODAY's free monthly parenting magazine. Contact Paulson at 321-242-3783 or spaulson@floridatoday.com
