Most families have a tradition that brings them together, something meaningful, or a little quirky. In early June, for brothers Jesse and Justin, a new tradition was quite literally born.

This year, in an incredibly special case of history repeating itself, the brothers welcomed newborn sons at Cabrini within days of each other. On the very day Justin and Phoebe were preparing to discharge with new son Jackson, Jesse and Sara were preparing for the arrival of their son, Myles.

Back in 2023, Justin and Phoebe welcomed their first child, Ashton. Just four months later, Jesse and Sara welcomed their first child, Hayley. Both children were born at Cabrini, where Sara herself had previously worked as a social worker.

“Between us we’ve now had four babies at Cabrini, and it’s been a brilliant experience,” Sara said. “Our first was a planned caesar and it was seamless, and this time was even better. I complimented Dr Tim Sturrock, my obstetrician, and all the nurses – it felt like a family. The nurse who was with us in recovery was actually there as we were discharging, and we gave each other a big hug. You’d think after seeing so many babies they wouldn’t remember you, but they did.”

Phoebe shared the same experience the second time around.

“We were really happy with the experience last time and it was a no-brainer to come back again,” Phoebe said. “We were with the same obstetrician, Dr Tom Manley, who is fabulous, and all of the staff and the care, you really can’t fault it. We loved the new ward too, it’s stunning, it almost feels like a bit of a hotel.”

“They were both planned caesars, but complete spontaneity in terms of the timing of everything,” Sara said. “It was just an absolute fluke that we had two kids within four days of each other.”

Jesse and Sara had hoped to coordinate the cousins’ first meeting, but the stars aligned when Phoebe ran into Jesse holding Myles in the corridor. Neither family had revealed the gender of their newborns to each other beforehand.

“It was pretty surreal at first,” Justin said. “My brother tried to catch me out. He wanted to reveal the gender with his wife in the room, so he had his baby in a pink and purple beanie.

“In our family there’s only one girl born like every 90 years, and he already has a daughter, so we thought, whoa, that’s lightning striking twice. Then he revealed a boy, and honestly, I was thrilled.”

The timing of the births carried extra weight for the brothers, whose father died in 2021.

“He valued being happy and being around family above all else,” Jesse said. “His wisdom was that whenever something bad happens, something good also has to happen, life balances itself out. It’s been a rough, challenging period for us, but having something this special, he’d say it’s time to be happy again.”

A sentiment that is echoed by his brother, Justin.

“In a nice way, each of our kids is like a quarter of him, it’s like he’s back in full,” Justin said. “He’d be ecstatic. We’ve had a rough time since then. This feels like a bit of a turning point for us, and for the family. We’re all excited.”

Not every sentiment is shared between the brothers though, with a strong Geelong versus Richmond AFL rivalry between them that is already being passed down to the new generations of cousins.

“Ashton, our first born, is a big Geelong supporter, and so is Jackson,” Justin said. “The night he was born, Geelong were playing and we won, so he’d seen the win within hours of being born. That’s basically the difference between a Geelong supporter and a Richmond supporter – Jesse’s child hasn’t seen a Richmond win yet, and he might be waiting a while. But we got one on night one.”

What the brothers do agree on, is how meaningful the connection between themselves and their growing families is.

“We understand we have to support each other,” Jesse said. “We have a special, unique brotherly bond, and we want to continue that with our own families.”

In Jesse and Justin, Jackson and Myles already have a blueprint– two brothers who have had each other’s backs through the most difficult time. For these cousins, growing up watching them, it’s a relationship worth inheriting (even if they’ll likely never agree on a footy team.)

“Our two families growing together in parallel, going through life together,” Justin said, “It should just be really fun.

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