Mother holds formerly conjoined twin for first time after surgery

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Nicole McDonald held her son Jadon for the first time on Friday one week after her 13-month-old twins were separated.

After a successful 27-hour surgery last week, Jadon was separated at the head from his conjoined, twin brother Anais. Ms McDonald described what it was like to hold her son for the first time.

"For over 13 months, I've dreamed of this moment," she wrote on Facebook. "I looked down at Jadon's angelic face and saw him in a way I'd never seen him before."

"He whimpered for almost the whole two hours I held him because he had just been extubated, had the area under his scalp washed out and had been weaned from the good pain meds."

Her husband was not in the hospital when she was able to hold Jadon but he said he was happy for his wife. "I was just happy Nicole got to hold him. She's been longing to hold him since the day the twins were born," Mr McDonald told CNN. "That's a very special moment for a mother to share."