Today the girls turned two. I can’t believe two years has gone by since we were blessed with these two little ones. I didn’t have this blog at the time so I thought I would share some memories and pictures of their birth.
October 16, 2008 Jeff and I went to the doctor so that we could hear our baby’s heartbeat. We had no idea we were going to hear two heartbeats that day. I’ll never forget that moment of the ultrasound tech saying, “Are you ready for this?” She turned that screen around and said “You are having twins!” That moment will live with me forever. It’s kind of funny looking back because there were only about 2 weeks where Jeff and I would say we were having “A” baby. After that ultrasound, it became “they” and “the babies”.
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| Logan |
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| Libby |
December 26, 2008 We found out our babies were both girls. We already had the name Libby picked out. We then had the challenge of finding another girl name that we both could agree on. We came up with the names Libby Marie and Logan Mae.
April 4, 2009 I was supposed to go to my school for the annual Spring Fling. My back had been hurting all morning and I just didn’t feel like going. I had felt pretty good my entire pregnancy besides the normal stuff that comes with carrying twins. That night I just could not get comfortable. My back was just really hurting. I know I should have known that could be labor but…..I didn’t. I guess I just always thought that I would feel pain in my stomach too if it was really labor. I finally called the on call nurse at about 9:00. She told me to take a warm bath and take two Tylenol. She said to call back in one hour if it wasn’t better. At about 10:30, I got up to go call the nurse again and as I was walking down the hall…..my water broke. I’ll never forget that moment either. I go tell Jeff and we basically just ran out the door and got in the car. I didn’t have my purse or anything. We prayed on the way to the hospital and just tried to stay as calm as possible. We arrived at the hospital around 11:00 and I was already about 5 cm dilated. I guess that is when it really sank in that there was no turning back and these babies were coming whether they (or we) were ready or not.
April 5, 2009 Logan Mae Shackelford came into this world at 1:27 a.m. weighing 3 pounds and 6 ounces. The Neonatologist (Dr. Bruce) brought her over to me. All I could think about was how tiny she was. She was tiny but PERFECT!
I got to give her a quick kiss on the head because I had one more thing to accomplish….bring that sweet baby’s sister into this world. Libby was a little more difficult in delivery. She did not want to come and the doctor had called to get a C-Section room ready. When I heard that….I pushed with everything I had. I did not want to have to do both. At 1:36 a.m. Libby Marie Shackelford entered the world weighing 3 pounds and 5 ounces. She was also tiny but PERFECT as well!
Dr. Bruce brought her over to me. I gave her a quick kiss too and they were off. The nurses and doctor along with Jeff wheeled them down to NICU. The next morning we went to visit the girls around 8:00 a.m. That is when we got to hold Logan for the first time.
There is just nothing like holding your child for the first time. After visiting Logan, we headed across the room to see sweet Libby. She had to use an Oxyhood because she had lost some oxygen during delivery. They told us we would not be able to hold her until she was breathing with just the nasal cannula. That broke my heart. After the feeling of holding Logan, it was so hard not being able to hold Libby. On April 10th, at five days old, we got to hold the baby of our family.
A few days later, one of the nurses was so nice and let me hold both the girls at the same time while my mom snapped some pictures. We also got our first family photo.
The girls were in the hospital for seven weeks. It felt like forever. After the first week, Jeff went back to work. My mom went with me to the hospital each day. Jeff would come each night and visit the girls after work. He read to them a lot. That could be why all they want to do now is read their books. We had good days and bad days. Exciting days and frustrating days. I remember being SO excited when they reached 4 pounds. We spent their first Easter and my first Mother’s Day there in the NICU. Finally, on May 22, 2008, we took our baby girls home. We actually had to spend their last night with them in the hospital. That is when reality first started to sink in and we realized it was “all us” from that point on. My mom stayed with us for awhile and I don’t know what I would have done without her. I read a lot about having twins before the girls were born. The one thing I always tried to keep in mind (and still do) is that no matter what your circumstance….it could always be worse. So true! We were blessed with two beautiful healthy girls. What more could I ask for??
Even though spending the first two months in the hospital was not what I envisioned, I would not trade it for anything. It, like everything else in life, taught me so much. I realized that even though our plan is not always God’s plan…..it is the perfect plan. God knew exactly what he was doing when he brought Libby and Logan into this world. He had a purpose. That experience also taught me how God is good even when things aren’t going well. I sometimes get annoyed when I hear people rattle off all the good things that are going well for them and say, “God is good!” Yes! He is good but he’s good even when your list is full of bad things. That is the awesome thing about our God. He is always with us and will never leave us. Sometimes it’s hard to see his purpose when things aren’t going great but it’s there. We just have to have faith and put all our trust in him. Libby and Logan changed my life. They brought me closer to Christ. Jeff and I pray with the girls each night. We are so grateful to Him for blessing us with these two beautiful children. We pray that Libby and Logan will know Him and trust Him one day. I know that is my greatest responsibility as a parent.
So…here we are two years later. The girls are growing fast and changing daily. They are really talking a lot now. Jeff has taught them to say “Roll Tide”. Yes…the brainwashing has officially begun.
We had their birthday party this past weekend. We celebrated at our house with friends and family. All the kids had a blast! I don’t think Libby or Logan set down all day and I don’t even want to know how many cupcakes they had! Here are some pictures from the party.
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| Elmo Cake |
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| Elmo Cookies |
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| Logan |
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| Libby |
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| Libby with her cousin Major! |
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| Sweet Kerrigan---She loves to party! |
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| Opening Presents |
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| Singing to Logan |
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| Singing to Libby |
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| Team Effort |
Their birthday brings back a lot of memories and emotions for me. It was such a scary time full of uncertainty. I do want to say “Thank You” to all of you that prayed for Libby and Logan then and have continued to pray for them over the last two years. Your prayers were felt and appreciated. If you have spent time with them recently, you will know the prayers are still needed. They are definitely toddlers! Jeff has to tell Logan frequently that this is not Burger King. “It’s not your way, right away!” She thinks it should be. They are such a mess but such a joy too! We have heard horror stories about the “terrible two’s”. When I was pregnant, I read a book about having twins called “Ready or Not….Here we Come!”. I am now reading the second book called “Ready or Not…There we GO!” That’s pretty much our life right now. So….here we go….let the two’s begin!
