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An Ulster family is celebrating the birth of Christmas twins. Dianne and Mark Innes from Holywood Road in Belfast received a surprise gift in the form of a pair of baby daughters.
The twins were born yesterday at the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald, Belfast.
Marcie, born at 11.50am on Christmas Day, weighed 3lb 11oz, and sister Amy, born at 12.10pm, weighed 6lb 9oz.
Proud mum Dianne said she was "chuffed to bits" at the arrivals.
"Four years ago my father died on Christmas Day, so it's bitter-sweet really," she said.
"The births were five weeks early, so we really weren't expecting it."
Elsewhere, the first Christmas birth in the province is thought to have been a baby boy, born at the Royal Jubilee Maternity Unit at 12.15am on December 25.
Weighing in at 9lb, he was one of nine babies born at the Royal Hospital in Belfast on Christmas Day.
And staff at Altnagelvin Hospital have been toasting the arrival of three little kings.
Catriona Brennan from Shantallow had the first of three Christmas baby boys, son Jason, at 2.16am, weighing in at 6lb 9oz.
Carol Henry from Woodbrook had the second festive delivery at 12.21pm, when son Dara was born weighing in at 8lb 6oz.
Less than an hour later, Jacqueline Darcy from Strabane gave birth to the third boy, Sean, at 1.13pm, who weighed 7lb 13oz.
There were no Christmas Day babies in Coleraine, but Joanna Winiarska, originally from Poland and now living in the Causeway area, gave birth to a girl at 3am yesterday morning. Weighing in at just over 7lb, her proud mum has yet to pick a name.
At the Erne Hospital, four Christmas babies were born - three girls and one boy.
Reetu Chaudhary, the wife of a paediatrician at the hospital, was the first to give birth with the arrival of a little girl weighing 8lb at 10.22am.
Just over an hour later at 11.45am, Deborah Murphy from Derrylin gave birth to a girl, Scarlett Grace, weighing 7lb 5oz.
Joanne Peaurt from Omagh gave birth to a baby girl weighting 7lb 11oz shortly after noon. The only male delivery at the hospital came late on Christmas night when Viola Dono from Enniskillen gave birth to a healthy baby boy weighing 9lb 15oz.
Three boys were born at Daisy Hill Hospital, the first arriving at 4.55am on Christmas Day.
Meanwhile, Altnagelvin Hospital is set to team up with community nursing staff to ensure the parents of every baby born locally over the next two years get extra help from a special book.
Entitled Sharing Our Stories, the book has been written by parents for parents, and is designed to help in the days, nights, weeks, months and years ahead.
The book will be officially launched on January 19.
