For us, the defining event of 2001 (with the exception of September 11) was May 14, when Carin Cole gave birth to twins. At 11:00 AM, on day 365 of her pregnancy by Patriot, Carin Cole went into labor. At 11:20 AM, she gave birth to a beautiful little girl. She was red with a black face and black feet. She was beautiful, but very tiny. She weighed only 19 pounds. Our average birth weight is 26 pounds. How could this be? Carin Cole was so very large and her previous two babies were normal sized. Oh well, this little girl was obviously healthy as she was standing at just 25 minutes. Carin Cole passed the placenta five minutes later. Ken was watching the baby to monitor the time she began nursing, when, with no warning whatsoever, a second baby dropped to the ground! This one was still encased in the amniotic sac, and Ken immediately freed it. She was also a little girl, white with red on the left side of her face, and weighed just 12 pounds!

I immediately left work and drove home convinced that I would arrive home only to find a dead baby. Instead, I arrived home to an exhausted husband, a bewildered Carin Cole, a healthy and nursing Twin #1, and a stable, if tiny, Twin #2. Our veterinarian arrived just minutes after I did. He checked both twins and said that they had similar heart and lung function (satisfactory), but that Twin #2’s heart was beating at a very elevated 150 beats per minute while Twin #1’s heart was beating at a normal 70 beats per minute. Dr. Heron said that the second twin is always more stressed than the first twin and the elevated heart rate reflected this stress. He said that other than her tiny size and elevated heart rate, he could find nothing wrong with Twin #2. However, he warned us "not to get too attached." Our veterinarian wished us luck and told us to call if her condition deteriorated.

Twin #2 stood for the first time after our veterinarian left (three hours after her birth). Carin Cole passed her second placenta at about the same time. Twin #2 was obviously too short to reach Carin Cole’s nipples and she was extremely weak in the back end. So we thawed some goat colostrum and started feeding it to her by bottle (In more than eighty births, we have yet to tube feed a baby.). During her first 24 hours of life, she had consumed 24 ounces of colostrum. During this time, we also gave her a warm water enema and she responded by passing her meconium. We were further encouraged to find that her heart rate had decreased to a more normal rate of 70 beats per minute.

The twins had become a permanent part of our hearts and lives and were deserving of a couple of very special names. After much discussion, we named Twin #1 Elevenses Isis, the Goddess of Motherhood. Twin #2 became Elevenses Serqet, the Scorpion Goddess who aids in childbirth. We proceeded to bottle-feed Serqet, giving her four ounces of kid milk replacer every 4 hours.

Isis was doing very well, gaining weight at a rate nearing a pound a day. Serqet had dropped a half pound but had a good appetite and we were cautiously optimistic. On Friday, May 18, at just four days of age, Serqet crashed. She exhibited severely decreased appetite and was unable to stand on her own. Ken rushed her to the North Carolina State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital where the veterinarians immediately diagnosed septicemia and failure of passive transfer. As Serqet had normal serum protein levels but absolutely no IgG, it is believed that the stress of being Twin #2 (in addition to the below-survivable birth weight) prevented Serqet from absorbing the colostrum that we had given her. Serqet had a catheter installed and received IV antibiotics and she was just beginning to get her transfusion when the catheter collapsed. A second one was successfully installed and she sat up for her first bottle of the day. What a relief!

Serqet received the last of her transfusion late that night just as the second catheter collapsed. Then she started to charm her way into the hearts of all the people at NCSU-VTH. This tiny little llama walked down each of the halls, sticking her head in each and every room, humming questions. "Who are you? Do you have anything to eat? Where is my sister? Have you seen my Mom?" We just barely managed to steal her away the following morning. When we walked into Carin Cole’s stall, carrying Serqet, Carin Cole screamed, "My baby!" and ran over to kiss her and nuzzle her. Even though Serqet never nursed and wasn’t as active as most babies, Carin Cole loved and missed her. Serqet received omeprazole (to prevent ulcers) for five days and antibiotics for fourteen days. During this time, her milk intake increased to eight ounces every 3.5 hours and her weight increased to 17 pounds. Isis weighed 34 pounds.

We were starting to feel confident that our twins were beyond their crises, when, on Saturday, June 2, we discovered that Isis had an umbilical hernia. We immediately called our veterinarian who evaluated her and scheduled her for surgery on Friday afternoon, June 8, his first available opening.

I had already scheduled a business trip for that Friday, so Ken was left to deal with Isis’ surgery on his own. He picked up Isis and put her in the van. Carin Cole quickly followed and both llamas cushed for the trip to our veterinarian’s clinic. He gave Isis the absolute minimal amount of anesthesia and quickly repaired the hernia. Carin Cole kept her nose near her daughter during most of the surgery, but at one point, she had to go for a walk to calm her nerves (just like most moms). Our veterinarian closed the four-inch incision then gently carried Isis back to the van for the trip home. As soon as Mom and Baby arrived home, Carin Cole sought out Serqet to make sure she was OK.

Serqet greeted her one month birthday with the second eye infection of her short life. This one responded to triple antibiotic ointment just as the first one did. At this time, Serqet weighed 23.5 pounds and Isis weighed 39 pounds.

Serqet has more attitude than any other cria we have known! Her sister, Isis, is just the opposite. She is a very polite little girl that always minds her mother and says please and thank you in all the appropriate places. She is turning into a positively stunning llama with that fine, red fiber. The twins are totally bonded to each other and to their mother. The three llamas make an adorable family unit.

Well, our twins, Isis and Serqet, are now more than six months old and weaned. We are so proud! When they were first born, we were not convinced we would make it to this point with two healthy babies. We thank Carin Cole for doing a wonderful job raising her two daughters and we thank our team of veterinarians who held our hands every step of the way. We also thank all of you who provided support and shared our joy. While I know many of you are interested in bringing the twins into your lives, please understand that we are emotionally incapable of parting with them. They will live their extraordinary lives with us, although we welcome visits from any of you who would like to experience the eighteenth pair of surviving llama twins born in the United States.

Update; May, 2002:

Isis and Serqet are rapidly approaching their first birthday.  They are healthy and growing just as little llamas should.  Isis weighs 195 pounds and Serqet weighs 156 pounds.  The twins are incredible friendly; children of all ages can caress them and experience their silky, fine fiber.  They are the perfect Public Relations llamas!  We positively adore our twins and are anxious to share their One Year Pictures: