PROUD parents Adrian and Michelle Shopland are hoping to celebrate the story of a personal miracle with news that both their identical twins could be home for Christmas. Theo and Jake Shopland were born 11 weeks prematurely weighing just 1lbs 15 ounces and 2lbs 9 ounces respectively. The tiny babies have been in Taunton's Musgrove Park Hospital's neo-natal unit since their birth at the end of October. But yesterday (Thursday) Jake, whose weight has risen to just under 5lbs, was discharged and allowed home to Porlock. And the family - including older brothers Liam, aged eight and four-year-old Ajay - are hoping that Theo, who is now more than 4lbs 6 ounces, could come home tomorrow. The unexpected news of the hoped for double homecoming was only given to the family this week after both boys continued to defy the odds. Jake was taken off a monitor last Friday and the following day doctors decided Theo no longer needed the oxygen supply that had been his lifeline since birth. He now needs to notch up three consecutive days without setting off his monitor to ensure his discharge in time to celebrate Christmas with the family. Until a few days ago Adrian and Michelle believed they might have to wait until January 9 - the twins' due date - to welcome the babies home. "But things suddenly moved forward at the weekend," said Adrian. "Now that Theo is off the oxygen he is able to feed so much more easily. "He took a full bottle on Saturday which was absolutely brilliant. We've spent a hectic few days trying to get everything ready and we are just hoping that Theo will be home tomorrow so that we are all together for Christmas, which is what we wanted from the start. "That would be wonderful." The story of the once tiny babies, whose heads were no bigger than tennis balls when they were born, was revealed in the Free Press in November. The boys suffered from twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome which meant they shared not only the same placenta but also some of the same circulation. The result, an imbalanced flow of blood from one twin to another, meant that Jake survived at the expense of Theo. Michelle and Adrian, a self employed painter and decorator, faced an agonising and worrying time with weekly scans and regular trips to hospitals in Taunton and Bristol for check-ups. But there was little anyone could do other than watch and wait. The pregnancy could have ended in tragedy with the loss of both babies but the twins beat the odds and although Theo had a major setback in the first week of life, have continued to thrive. In the last few weeks Michelle, 26, has been staying at the hospital two nights a week to help with night-time feeds. But she admitted the strain of making the daily 60- mile round trip to visit the babies was taking its toll, particularly with two other children to care for. "It has been hard," she said. If Theo is not allowed home in time for the festivities the family will visit on Christmas day with gifts, including rattles and pyjamas. But their biggest challenge in the new year will be to find a home large enough to accommodate the new additions. They currently live in a two-bedroom terraced house owned by Magna West Somerset Housing Association and are now waiting for a three or four- bedroom property to become available. "Magna has told us there is nothing available at the moment so it is going to be very difficult coping with the space we have where we are," said Michelle. "We don't see how we will be able to manage beyond about March or April once the twins are out of Moses baskets so we are keeping our fingers crossed. "We just want somewhere we can be together as a family."