Michelle Jenkins was a busy woman Friday afternoon.

Throughout the day, she jetted from one hospital room to another as two of her daughters were delivering babies at Sentara Obici Hospital within three hours of each other.

“I just kept walking the halls with the nurses,” Jenkins said. “It was exciting.”

It was a twist of fate that was completely unforeseen.

Nikita DeLoatch, 18, was told she was due on Sept. 1; her 16-year-old sister, Destiny DeLoatch, was told she would deliver her baby July 23.

Destiny was almost a month late when she went to the doctor Aug. 21 complaining of intense cervical pains.

Her older sister had gone into the hospital just the day before for a check-up, and was told she would be delivering within a day.

“I said, ‘Well, it would be nice if you both gave birth at the same time,’” Jenkins said she told her daughters. “We were already there.”

The moms-to-be even spent some time in the same delivery room because by the time Destiny was admitted to the hospital, all of the other delivery rooms were filled.

“They sent me to the ultrasound room,” Destiny said. “They were like, ‘You can’t deliver here,’ so, I went down to see my sister for a while.”

The girls ended up getting their separate rooms, and at 3:52 p.m. Nikita delivered 6-pound, 8-ounce Ja’Cari Zi’Quan Mack. Then, less than three hours later, Destiny delivered 7-pound, 14-ounce Zamari Ni’Jah DeLoatch.

“It was hectic,” Nikita said. “I think it drew us closer. We basically did everything and shared everything together.”

Both of the new moms and baby boys are living with Jenkins, and they credit their mom with giving them guidance throughout their pregnancies and for being a caretaker for their babies as they get ready to go back to school.

“My mom is going to take care of my baby,” Destiny said. “So, it won’t be as hard for me as it would be for other young parents because we have her.”

Destiny will be attending Lakeland High School, and said she hopes to have a career in child care later in life.

Nikita will return to King’s Fork High School for her senior year, and she said she has been inspired by the birth of her son to pursue a career in medicine.

“I want to be a gynecologist,” Nikita said. “The way the doctors took care of me and helped me deliver my baby. It deepened my passion for (medicine).”

While the young mothers said they are thrilled with their sons, they said that becoming parents at such a young age has its challenges.

“I wouldn’t go through it if I didn’t have to,” Nikita said. “It’s a big responsibility. You have to care for two people. We had to find out the hard way.”