Jaalah’s Story: Not one, but two!
July 8, 2025
Mama Bear Jaalah had a seemingly normal pregnancy until her anatomy scan at 21 weeks. She and her husband were devastated to learn the ultrasound showed their baby girl had problems severe enough to elicit the phrase “incompatible with life.” But that wasn’t all. It wasn’t until more appointments and tests were done that the couple discovered they weren’t only carrying one baby, but two – conjoined twin girls!
Although the girls shared one body, each had her own separate head and spine. Their little body had multiple major issues, including a heart that was missing two of its four chambers, barely developed lungs, a congenital diaphragmatic hernia, complete spina bifida, and other complications. The brain and skull of the second twin did not fully develop.
Keep reading to hear more about this brave couple’s journey as they named, loved, and cared for not one, but two precious girls.
Laelle & Levia: Not one, but two unique babies
Jaalah shares her story as follows:
Once we’d finally completed all of the countless appointments and scans, we discovered that the girls’ medical problems were far too many and major for the doctors to attempt to fix anything. Having to make peace with that is one of the hardest things my husband and I have ever had to do. We knew beyond a doubt that we put our 100% all into making sure we had done everything possible to give our girls a chance at life, and that’s what we had to remember as we prepared to give birth and say goodbye to our sweet babies. My husband and I prayed out loud together every night for the girls starting from the day we discovered something was wrong. We did family things together while I was still pregnant, such as playing in the snow, taking walks, going to the zoo and aquarium, and much more. We involved our two-year old son Max by always talking about his sisters in my belly. He loved kissing and talking to my belly many times each day! I wasn’t sure how my husband’s and my marriage would be affected by what we were going through, but honestly we both felt that it brought us closer together. We were going through the unimaginable side by side, and that created a very special bond between us.
We chose the girls’ names during the pregnancy. The main twin we named “Laelle,” meaning “Belonging to God.” Our other twin we named “Levia,” meaning “Joined/Attached.” We really wanted names that had special meanings for the girls. The girls were born via C-section on April 7, 2025, at 8:40am. They passed away peacefully in my arms as I was still on the surgery table. They didn’t appear to have suffered at all; it was as if they simply fell asleep. My husband and I had been fearful of the girls being in pain, but it ended up being a beautiful and peaceful passing, which is what we had been praying for.
One thing I didn’t expect to feel after their birth was the post-birth feeling of bliss and happiness. I felt so happy and proud to be their Mom. I couldn’t stop smiling for an hour or two after their birth, and I was just so happy to have them, even though I knew they had passed. That was another answer to prayer. I wasn’t sure how I’d handle everything, but God definitely intervened, and my husband and I could feel the peace and joy in that hospital room. One thought that dawned on us as we held our girls shortly after they passed is that Jesus was holding them in His arms at the same time as we were holding in our arms. It was such a comforting and beautiful image to have in our heads.
We had planned to make memories with the girls by getting professional photos done, my husband painting their little fingernails, holding, cuddling, and kissing them endlessly, helping them snuggle their stuffed animals, doing hand and footprint kits, dressing them and changing them, and more. We spent 2 1/2 days with them in my postpartum recovery room until I was discharged from the hospital. We wouldn’t trade that time for anything! That time allowed for many treasured memories to be made, and it really helped the grieving process I think. Saying goodbye was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but God carried us through so well.
We will never be the same people we were before all of this happened, but somehow, I’m okay with that. The girls changed us and impacted countless lives around them. Heaven and eternity suddenly don’t feel so distant and foreign anymore. I have a different view of life and living, and what matters versus what doesn’t. God feels all the more real and close, and I know that He is broken hearted as He has watched us go through this. Now that we’ve had their celebration of life and laid them to rest at a beautiful, treed cemetery surrounded by many other precious babies and toddlers, I am looking ahead to how our girls will continue to change others’ lives for the better. I’m hoping to start an organization or ministry in their honor and reach many other moms who find themselves in a situation such as this.
I will never stop grieving my babies. There are days where the ache feels so fresh. But what an honor it was to be chosen to carry these precious and unique baby girls.
I found Mama Bear Care very shortly after the anatomy scan in which we first discovered our babies were incompatible with life. I got connected and requested a welcome packet, as well as joined the Diagnosis to Delivery FB group. Receiving our welcome packet had a huge impact on my husband and I, especially because we were still kind of in shock at that time.
We started reading the book From Diagnosis to Delivery aloud together every night. It was SUCH a wonderful and helpful resource for us. It touched on many topics that no one else could possibly understand. It provided opportunities for my husband and I to have specific conversations about our situation that we may have never had. That was huge for us!
The little dress that came in our package ended up being what we dressed our girls in before saying goodbye to them at the hospital. Once the girls had passed, I also joined the From Heartache to Hope FB group and have really enjoyed and benefited from being part of the Mama Bear Care community. I have already recommended MBC to at least one other mom, and will continue to do so in the future! Also the bereavement package we received was yet another beautiful thing, words can’t explain. Everything was so thoughtfully put together, and it arrived very soon after we lost our girls, which was such good timing. I could go on and on about how wonderful MBC was for our family.
Another beautiful and unique way that MBC blessed us a little while after the girls passed was a gift very personalized to our situation. A little homemade bear stuffed animal with two heads to represent conjoined twins, and a picture of Jesus holding two babies. My husband and I were teary-eyed opening this beautiful gift. It was so incredibly thoughtful to receive things that were specifically made for our particular loss.
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