Submitted Photo Palmer, left, and Porter are identical twins born to Bryana Christensen and Josh Pfiefer on Feb. 29, this year’s leap day.

Parents Bryana Christensen and Josh Pfiefer are over the moon with the arrival of their twin daughters, Palmer Grey and Porter Grace Pfiefer, who were born on Feb. 29. Pfiefer said the odds of having identical twins on a leap day are less than .000003%.

Pfiefer said the day started out like any other and that Christensen had a routine contraction stress test, a test that measures the fetal heart rate after the mother’s uterus is stimulated to contract. He said when the doctors weren’t seeing the results they wanted, it was time for the babies to make their debut a few days early.

“I jumped on a work call and three minutes later she texted me, ‘Hey. They’re coming. Today.’ Her appointment was at 10:30 and the doctors said, ‘Yup, they’re coming out at 2:30,'” he said. Christensen was admitted to the labor and delivery ward at a local hospital directly from the clinic.

The medical staff was full of coincidences that day – their doctor had a set of twins, their doctor’s nurse had a set of twins and one of their hospital nurses was a leap day baby.

The couple found out they were pregnant with twins after a visit to the emergency room when Christiansen was experiencing extreme nausea. After a blood test, they found out it was extreme morning sickness due to high hCG, the pregnancy hormone. The couple knew right away they were expecting twins despite twins not running significantly in either of their families. Pfiefer said he had always wanted twins so this was a welcome discovery.

He said the sister bond was strong between the two right away. The night after they were born, the girls were sleeping in their own separate bassinets and were fussing but once the girls were put together they quieted down.

Porter was born at 4 pounds, 11 ounces, and Palmer was born at 4 pounds, 4 ounces, a weight that Pfiefer said would usually automatically send babies to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). He said it was normal for twin babies to have low birth weights but that Palmer’s was especially low. Palmer’s weight dipped down to 3 pounds, 14 ounces, but healthcare providers were ecstatic when she gained back 2% of her body weight, keeping her out of the NICU, which Pfiefer credits to the sister bond.

Pfiefer has been a Minot resident since 2018. The couple met while Christensen was a student at Minot State University. Pfiefer is originally from Rugby and Christensen is from Sidney, Montana.

The two said the most frequent question they get asked is which day they will celebrate their daughters’ birthday, which they said they’re planning on celebrating on Feb. 28 with a larger party every four years.

The couple said they are very thankful for their nursing staff for being proactive in the care of their daughters and for advocating for higher calorie formula for the smaller baby.