MUM Janice Sheath nursed a special dream...that one day she would be able to touch her identical twins.

But the only time she was able to hold them, was to watch the frail boys take their last breaths.

Tiny Connor and Nathan developed a rare complication, meaning one baby was not getting enough blood while the other was getting too much.

Janice, of Gorsey Lane, Warrington, contracted Polyhydramnios which meant she swelled to the size of a 30-week pregnancy at just 20 weeks, and could start contractions at any moment.

Doctors feared the worst and told Janice and husband, Paul, that the next few weeks were crucial.

But babies Connor and Nathan proved to be real fighters when they were born, weighing just three pounds between them.

Janice said: "The doctors told me they would have a better chance if they were born between 28 and 32 weeks.

"When I had the emergency section at 28 weeks, I thought they had a better chance of living out than in."

Connor was born weighing just 1lb and Nathan just 2lbs. They were both put on life-support machines.

But the next morning, Nathan developed major complications and doctors told Janice and Paul he had a 10 per cent chance of survival.

Janice said: "They called us in and I was able to hold him as he took his last breath.

"Connor was a real little fighter though. He carried on.

"It wasn't day by day, it was hour by hour. We were there at his bedside 24-hours.

"Each time you walk around the door or hear one of the noises from the machines, you think something is wrong.

"Connor helped us cope with losing Nathan. We prayed we could just keep him."

But eight days later, Connor also died as Janice and Paul held him.

"We carried on holding him for hours after he died, kissing and talking to him. I just told him how much we missed him and how we wished he could still be here.

"Then we took him to be with Nathan."

Janice, aged 34, and Paul, with their daughters, Stephanie, aged seven, and Natalie, aged 12, are still trying to come to terms with their loss.

This was another blow for Janice, who lost her last baby after a miscarriage.

Paul, aged 39, said: "They were only with us for a short amount of time. But we have lost a big part of our lives."

Janice added: "I haven't thought about having any more children. I don't think I will. I'd be paranoid that something would go wrong."

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