QUADS! Sister offers to be surrogate mother after younger sister can't conceive and they BOTH end up pregnant with twins 

  • Annie Johnston, 33, and her husband Joby, of Lewis Centre, Ohio, tried for five years to conceive but were unsuccessful
  • Older sister Chrissy Knott offered to be a surrogate to help the desperate couple
  • They both had two embryos implanted to increase their chances of having at least one child
  • Both sisters miraculously got pregnant, and both with twins
  • Johnston carried the girls while Knott had the boys
  • The four children were born on October 24

By Daily Mail Reporter

Published: 15:31, 30 October 2013 | Updated: 18:08, 30 October 2013

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An Ohio couple who had been trying to have a baby unsuccessfully for five years got more than what they bargained for when they finally asked the woman’s sister to be their surrogate mother.

Annie Johnston, 33, and her husband Joby, of Lewis Centre, got married in 2005 and starting trying to have children in 2008.

They tried everything they could to have a child, including in vitro fertilization twice, but Johnston had not had one positive pregnancy test in all the years she had been trying to conceive.

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Finally! Annie Johnston, 33, right, and her husband Joby, of Lewis Centre, Ohio, had been trying to have a child for five years

Finally! Annie Johnston, 33, right, and her husband Joby, of Lewis Centre, Ohio, had been trying to have a child for five years

Sisterly love: Then her sister, Chrissy Knott, left, stepped in and offered to carry a child for the desperate couple. They both ended up getting pregnant

Sisterly love: Then her sister, Chrissy Knott, left, stepped in and offered to carry a child for the desperate couple. They both ended up getting pregnant

That’s when her older sister, Chrissy Knott, stepped in.

'It was heartbreaking. When they started having problems getting pregnant it was devastating to watch' said Knott, a senior consultant at Mercer, a human resources company.

The sister already has two children - both boys - but offered to be a gestational carrier.

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‘I just want you to know that I'd be more than happy to carry if that would help you to have a family,’ Knott told her younger sister at the time, according to NBC4i.com.

On Valentine's Day, they retrieved eggs from Johnston and fertilised them with her husband's sperm.

‘Very romantic,’ jokes Johnston.

Sacrifice: Chrissy Knott, pictured with the quadruplets, already has two children - both boys - but offered to be a gestational carrier and ended up carrying twins for her sister, Annie

Sacrifice: Chrissy Knott, pictured with the quadruplets, already has two children - both boys - but offered to be a gestational carrier and ended up carrying twins for her sister, Annie

Own family: Chrissy Knott with her two sons and husband. She also bore two children for her sister, Annie

Own family: Chrissy Knott with her two sons and husband. She also bore two children for her sister, Annie

Double whammy: Doctors implanted two embryos in Knott, left, and since Johnston, right, was on the same cycle, they decided to implant two embryos in her too, to increase their chances of having at least one child

Double whammy: Doctors implanted two embryos in Knott, left, and since Johnston, right, was on the same cycle, they decided to implant two embryos in her too, to increase their chances of having at least one child

Watch their full story here 

Doctors implanted two embryos in Knott, and since Johnston was on the same cycle, they decided to implant two embryos in her too, just to give it one more try.

They were hoping for just one baby, but then they got the call from Dr Jaina Lindauer.

‘She started off by saying she had double great news, and we just gasped,’ Johnston told Vimeo.

Both women were pregnant, and both with twins; Johnston was carrying two girls and Knott was with two boys.

Charlie was born first

Charlie was born first, courtesy of sister, Chrissy Knott

Then came Tommy

Then came Tommy

Grace was the first girl Annie Johnston gave birth to

Grace was the first girl Annie Johnston gave birth to

And last, but not least, Hadley was born

And last, but not least, Hadley was born

Miracle: The two Ohio sisters with three of the four babies they gave birth to last week

Miracle: The two Ohio sisters with three of the four babies they gave birth to last week

‘They found one in me and then they moved over and saw another little sac with another flickering heartbeat, and we knew that we still had Chrissy left to go,’ Johnston said. 

They are technically quadruplets, according to Johnston, as they were conceived on the same day, born on the same day but just being carried in two separate wombs.

The babies, who were born on October 24, were given the names Charlie, Tommy, Grace and Hadley.

‘Trying to get at least one baby, we are just so excited to take all four of them home and they’re all healthy,’ said new mother Johnston.

Her husband added: ‘The miracle continues.’

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