No one can shy away from the fact that, without a child a family is incomplete. The sight of a father to watch his child in a happy and playful mood after a long days work is very emotional. Similarly, for a mother, her child is the pivot on which her life revolves.

Two Special Boys

 Married to Paul Merrie, a physical trainer, Alanna lives in Edinburgh, Scotland. The couple was a busy-bee as Alanna was a doctor herself. They tried their best to spare some time for their one-year-old daughter, Ayla.

A New Found Happiness

Ayla's presence in the family was the key factor, which had made the couple forget about a bitter tragedy in the past. The incident goes like this that, before the couple had their daughter Ayla, Alanna had been pregnant with another child. After delivery, they named the little girl Aubyn. Unfortunately, after only a few days, Aubyn passed away.

Twin Boys

By The Almighty's grace, Alanna was pregnant again. Surprisingly, they were expecting twins! Though, the fact that both Alanna and her husband were blessed with the presence of many twins in their family made them take the news of giving birth to twins very normal.

Smooth Sailing

Without taking any risk, Alanna frequently went for check-ups. Shona Finch, the manager for maternity at NHS Lothian, said, "Twins can often be smaller when they are born.” Fortunately, Alanna's pregnancy was progressing very well. "We were monitoring their growth throughout Alanna's pregnancy so we knew they were both going to be healthy weights,” said Finch.

Growing Big And Strong

The scans revealed the fact, that the twins were going to be bigger than average.“The scans said they were good sizes and the midwives told me they were growing well,” said Alanna.Still, Alanna could not believe the speculation that the nurses made regarding the size of her babies.

Strangers Made Comments

"You just don't expect it though", Alanna said innocently. After some time, she was on the receiving end of taunts and sarcastic comments from the strangers wherever she went. Eventually, after hearing such things, Alanna realized how big she was truly getting.

Larger Than Most

"I did have a huge bump, though, and total strangers kept coming up to me asking whether I was going to give birth on the spot as I was that big," Alanna said. Soon, Alanna too realized that what was happening to her was not normal.

Waiting To Buy Clothes

Alanna was perplexed while deciding the size of clothes which she would make her newborns wear. After a lot of thinking, she came to a decision. "I didn't buy them anything because I didn't want to risk having to take things back because they didn't fit them,” she said.

Surprisingly Large

Everything was proceeding as planned, Alanna was scheduled for a C-section, and she had even prepared herself to witness the size of her babies. But, still, everyone was shocked to see the babies after birth. Alanna too couldn't believe what she was witnessing.

A Rare Sight

With a combined weight of 16lb 13oz, the twins were the size of a six-month-old. "The staff at the hospital were saying to me that they have never delivered twins this big before," Alanna said. It was surely something that does not happen often. Alanna felt like a proud mother.

Record-Breaking Babies

The Merrie twins proved to be record-breakers. As, before they were born, the largest twins born in Scotland were Mya and Ollie Kennedy in 2010, with a combined weight of 15lb 14oz. Their record was demolished by Troy and Kaius Merrie. "A combined weight of 16lb 13oz is very unusual and probably the heaviest set of twins we have ever delivered in Lothian," said Finch.

Signs From Far Away

Alanna recalls, "What's funny is Kaius looked so much like our first daughter Aubyn when he came out, One of the community midwives said to me that in having twins we were somehow getting her back to us and the boys were bringing our family together.” Paul was more than happy to have twin boys.

Recovered From The Past

Though, the tragedy of losing their daughter Aubyn was something that would always haunt them. But, fortunately, the newborns were able to give the parents some much needed moments of relief and helped them to overcome the past tragedy.

Ready For The Future

"It's always great for any lad to have a boy. We all know boys can get into a bit of trouble but we'll keep them busy – a lot of sports will do them good," said Paul. "We have a lovely little daughter and now that we have boys, it's a complete package.”

Leaving The Hospital

A happy Alanna after bringing the twins to their home, after a week said, "They lost a little of their body weight over the first couple of days, which is normal, but they are doing really well, they are quite chilled out and they love a cuddle." The decision of not buying any clothes for the twins proved to be right.

A Little Challenging

"They don't really fit into newborn clothes, they have quite big feet and big hands", a happy Alanna said. Regardless of all these minor challenges, the couple was very happy to witness their newborn in perfect health and happiness. This was the only thing they had wished for.

A Very Special Birth

"I was trying to find out if they are the heaviest, The records office is researching this for us and should be able to confirm it, either way, this week", said Alanna in an interview. Obviously, even if they do not break any records, the Merrie twins are definitely special.