A South Carolina mom is still in disbelief after giving birth to her fourth child last month, who shares the same birthday with her three older siblings.
Kristin Lammert was a mom of three girls, Sophia, 9, Giuiliana, 6 and Mia, 3, who were born on Aug. 25 before welcoming her fourth baby girl Valentina who arrived on the same date this year. The girls were all born three years apart from each other.
"We really just couldn't believe it, we still can't believe it. I keep writing it down, and I still can't believe it," Lammert told "Good Morning America."
Lammert said Valentina was originally expected to be born on Sept. 25, but she arrived earlier due to a pregnancy complication she experienced.
3 sisters share same birthday, 3 years apart: 'We feel like it was fate'When she and her husband, Nick Lammert, realized Valentina was going to be born a month earlier and on the same date as her other older siblings, she said they "started laughing."
"Because at that moment, we were really mostly concerned about the health of the baby and myself, and I wouldn't say we didn't realize the date, but the bigger focus was about making sure she was okay and that it wasn't putting enough stress on the baby, and that I would be okay," she explained. "And then when it kept getting closer to midnight, we then thought it was funny."
Despite arriving earlier than her due date, Lammert told "GMA" that Valentina came in healthy and didn't even need to go into the neonatal intensive care unit.
"Because having a preemie baby is scary and risky, and we don't really want that to happen," she said, adding that Valentina "came out very, very strong."
"She was tiny, but very strong….And so it just wound up being the biggest blessing," Lammert continued. "My girls think it's the coolest thing ever. I am still literally in disbelief."
Lammert shared she had a healthy pregnancy since finding out about being pregnant with Valentina until towards the end when she began experiencing symptoms of pregnancy complications.
"So I was back and forth at the doctor's office," she recalled. "They ran some tests to determine preeclampsia, the beginning stages of it. So I was told to be on bed rest and to watch for any warning signs…On the 23rd of August, eyesight started to get really blurry.. and that's when I was told to go to the hospital."
Preeclampsia is a pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure and signs of damage to another organ system, according to the National Institutes of Health.
"Women with preeclampsia are at increased risk for organ damage/failure, preterm birth, pregnancy loss, and stroke," NIH states on its website.
At the hospital, Lammert said she and her husband thought Valentina would be arriving on the 23rd or 24th of August.
"Then it turned into a medical emergency," she shared. "And then, when midnight hit on the 25th we knew she would be there on the 25th we just couldn't believe that she was coming. So soon. Weren't prepared at all."
Due to the complication she endured during her pregnancy, Lammert said her recovery has been more difficult this time around.
"So I've been required to take it easy, and I don't normally have high blood pressure, so this is my first time experiencing that," she said. "I have my doctor's appointment tomorrow for a two week appointment for myself, but everything is seeming to go back to normal for myself already."
As for how their three older children welcomed their newest addition to the family, Lammert said, "They are completely in love with her."
"They are fighting with each other on who gets to hold her next," she said. "It's been like 'I want to feed her,' 'I want to burp her after you're finished feeding her,' 'I want to hold her, It's my turn.' That's what I've been hearing non stop."
Reflecting on her journey with her pregnancy, Lammert encouraged other moms "to listen to your own body's intuition and advocate for yourself."
"Because towards the end there, I felt like something was wrong, and it turns out that there was something wrong that could easily be dismissed for other things," she said.
Lammert added she also learned that "nothing is actually in your control."
"But everything is a blessing," she said. "At the same time, everything that's meant to happen will happen as it's meant to be."