Grandma's double delight: Two daughters, two grandkids, and one memorable journey in Chicago

CHICAGO - Nothing was going to stop a first-time grandmother-to-be from being there for her daughters and her new grandkids. All of it was planned out, but what happened turned out better than she expected.

Amanda Monarrez, eagerly awaiting the arrival of her first grandchildren, was prepared to drop everything and be by her daughters' side at a moment's notice. The excitement of two sisters expecting babies simultaneously had the family making meticulous plans for Amanda's travel from Tennessee to Chicago.

"If they would've went into labor five days ago, ten days ago, and I wasn't here, I was just a phone call away," Monarrez said.

Despite her daughters not going into labor early, Amanda had her travel arrangements set and was ready to fly out when called upon.

Julianna was scheduled for induced labor on February 11 at Mount Sinai Hospital, while Delia's due date was February 14 at MacNeal Hospital.

However, fate had other plans. Delia unexpectedly began experiencing contractions during a family gathering on February 10 and was admitted to MacNeal Hospital the next morning. Meanwhile, Julianna, though having an appointment at Mount Sinai, faced a delay due to a lack of available rooms.

"One of the nurses... we told her the situation and how everything was playing out at the time, and she was like, 'Well, why don't you just have her come here?'" Monarrez recounted.

Following the nurse's suggestion, Julianna redirected to MacNeal Hospital. Delia gave birth to Irving on February 12, just after 1 a.m., while Julianna welcomed Viviano the same day, 17 hours later. Both babies were delivered by the same doctor.

"I'm just happy that we could share the experience together," Monarrez said.