Mother, 27, who discovered she was pregnant just three months after giving birth to firstborn reveals how she navigates raising ‘Irish twins’

DAILYMAIL.COM • 2h ago

By RUTH STAINER, REPORTER Updated: 15:49 28 Sep 2026

A mother who discovered she was pregnant just three months after giving birth has revealed the joys of raising ‘Irish twins’.

Jay Antonia, 27, and her partner Joshua, 26, welcomed their first son, Teddy, two years ago and were eagerly anticipating setting into new family life.

But just 12 weeks later, Jay unexpectedly discovered she was pregnant again after ‘jokingly’ purchasing a test in their weekly food shop.

‘My period was late but I didn’t feel like I was pregnant – we just jokingly got a test ,’ Jay, who works in childcare, from Portsmouth, said.

‘Josh was watching me to take it while casually munching on a apple and when it said positive he nearly choked. Josh was always keen on having a small age gap if we were to have another baby after Ted.

‘He wanted them to grow close together as his sister is five years younger and he thought that was too big of a gap. I was apprehensive slightly on doing it all again so soon, it was kind of a see what happens thing.’

Recalling the moment she discovered she was pregnant, Jay said she was ‘happy but also slightly freaking out’ at the prospect of having two sons so close in age.

‘We didn’t think it would actually happen so soon which was probably very naive of us,’ she added.

‘My mum and stepdad came around and at first I didn’t want to say until we had our reassurance scan but I ended up blurting it out. My mum got all emotional but everyone was happy. After a few days and it had sunk in, we were OK.’

Initially, Jay said she felt ‘apprehensive’ about how her body would cope with another pregnancy so soon after giving birth, while also worrying about Teddy suddenly no longer being the baby.

However, fortunately, Jay did not suffer from any morning sickness while pregnant with her second child.

‘I didn’t have a great time with Ted but I was determined to have my dream birth – using only gas and air if needed, hypnobirthing birth, a TENs machine, a pool and to be in and out the same day,’ she said.

‘I got all of that and although it was extremely painful, it was amazing and so was my recovery.

‘No doctors or midwives raised any concerns regarding them being so close together but lots were surprised when they found out, understandably.

Jay added that despite being encouraged by midwifes, she refused to go onto contraception following the birth of her second son, Albie, one.

Now, both Teddy and Albie are ‘best friends’, with Jay describing her sons as ‘such characters’.

And while having two children so close in age has certainly brought its challenges, Jay feels lucky that the pair share such similar routines.

‘They eat together, nap at similar times and bed times are the same although Albie likes to stay awake until nine some nights,’ she said.

‘The only difference is that Ted spends a night at his nans on a Sunday and she has him for the day on a Monday, which we’ve done since we had Albie.

‘Although there are challenging times of course, I’ve been surprised with how well we’ve all managed.

‘It’s not as hard as I thought it could’ve been although that could all change next year when I have a two and three year old.’

Joshua usually settles Teddy in the evenings while Jay looks after Albie, who is still breastfed, with the couple helping each other whenever they can.

But despite the chaos, Jay says the boys’ relationship makes everything worthwhile.

She added: ‘Although they are brothers and best friends, they do have a few different traits.

‘They are both cheeky and love to dance but Ted is definitely a lot more silly than Albie, he’s always been a little whirlwind and noisy. Albie is a lot more emotional than Ted but he can also be a lot more chill.

‘I hope they grow up to be good friends as well as brothers. I hope they find comfort in one another and go to each other if they feel they couldn’t come to me or Josh.’

Jay added that any other parents considering a small age gap who think their body can cope should ‘do it’ and described having so-called ‘Irish twins’ as the ‘hardest but best thing ever’.

‘I’m so glad we have, they are so cute together and if you have the same gender like me then you probably won’t need to buy much stuff which is a winner,’ she said.

‘Although there are hard days, I would still do it again. It was worth it, they love each other so much and I couldn’t imagine Albie not being here with us all.

‘I’d like more children in the future, my heart doesn’t feel done. I look at Albie and I can’t imagine him being my last baby. I’d love a little girl.’

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