Thursday, April 30, 2009
Logan and Libby Are Now Taking Bottles!
The girls are making progress! Logan weighs 4 lbs. and 1.8 oz. and Libby weighs 3 lbs. and 12.3 oz.! Logan is in a crib and both girls are drinking out of a bottle now.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Logan weighs 4 pounds now!
It's April 29 and the girls are growing! Libby now weighs 3 lbs. and 11.6 ounces. Michael Randall (Dr. Randall!) and Jeff had a great visit with the girls last night. Michael is in town from California for the week and Jeff said that Michael was the first visitor to be able to read the monitors and know exactly what was going on medically. Logan is now in a small crib and Libby will soon follow. They are still trying to regulate the girls' heartbeats, but they grow stronger each day.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Meemaw comes to the hospital!
Larry and I brought his mother to the hospital and we got to see Jeff and Jenni hold both of the girls. It was a wonderful visit and she loved meeting Libby and Logan.
Logan is 20 days old and now weighs 3 lbs. 12 ounces!
love this picture of Jenni. She can't take her eyes off of Logan!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Libby now weighs 3 lbs. and 4 ounces!
It was a benchmark night for the girls on April 21st! Mommy and Daddy gave Libby a bath and both girls are off the lights and oxygen for now! Jane Love sent bravery bead necklaces for Libby and Logan (she made them). Each time the girls reach a new developmental benchmark, Mom and Dad get to add a bead to the necklaces! Tonight was a 2-bead night! Nana (Jenni's mom, Connie) and Grammy are both very happy! We are so blessed.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
The Elmores spend time with Logan and Libby!
Jeff says they had a great visit last night with Chris, Cassandra, and Callie when they came to see Libby and Logan! Jenni's mother is coming tomorrow to spend the week. According to Jeff, Connie is bringing him baked spaghetti, a casserole, and some of his favorite meals. Jeff is blessed to have such wonderful in-laws!
Logan is 2 weeks old today!
Logan is spending her two-week birthday back under the lights, but she nows weighs 3 pounds, 5.1 ounces!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Wednesday Night at the NICU
It was a busy day for Logan and Libby. They were popular babies! Jenni spent the day with her mom, Connie, and then her dad, Jerry, joined them. Jeff and Jenni got to hold Logan and Libby and they were both very alert and bright-eyed. They only had eyes for their Mommy and Daddy, though. The waiting room was full! Jeff, Jenni, Jerry, Larry, and I came to visit, along with Brian Richey and Kathy Self! This was Brian's third visit to the hospital. Kathy tried very hard not to tear up when she saw the twins. They are so beautiful! Sandy Sheffield also popped in to see the girls. She works at St. Vincent's and pops in from time to time. Good news! Libby and Logan both weigh over 3 pounds each now!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Jeff gets to hold Logan!
Larry had to go out-of-town, so he didn't get to visit the babies tonight. But, his sister, Kathy, came with me to the hospital and couldn't believe how precious the babies are. Jenni got to hold Libby today and Jeff got to hold Logan tonight! We got to see Jeff change Logan's diaper! Jeff is one proud Daddy! The Richey's came to the hospital and brought Little Alabama Angel shirts for the girls!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Easter Blessings!
Happy Easter Logan and Libby!
It's been one week since the girls came into this world. It's their one week birthday. Larry, Jeff, Jenni, and I started out the day at Meemaw's house. We all got up really early to go and see her on Easter. Jeff and Jenni stayed up late last night making a DVD for Meemaw and they printed out all of their pictures of the babies to give to her. Larry and I got up very early to cook her an Easter dinner of ham, macaroni and cheese, potatoes, green beans, squash, and apple pie. Larry told her we'd be there at 9 a.m., but when we all arrived at 8:45, no-one was home! Apparently, she went out to breakfast with Larry's sisters after going to the sunrise service. We waited and they came home around 9:30, and we had a nice visit. Then J & J and Lar and I all went to the hospital to see the girls! Jeff fixed two Easter baskets of stuffed animals and Dr. Seuss books. We had their brand new preemie Easter dresses and bonnets that Beth Phillips bought for them yesterday. Libby was upgraded to the isolette last night, so now both girls are out of the incubators. What a wonderful Easter blessing! We got to see J & J hold both girls, so we could really see them up close. Lar and I got to spend an hour with them. It was the best Easter present we could ever have. At noon, we had to leave (visiting hours were over for Grandparents) and we helped Jeff and Jenni check into the hotel at St. Vincents. They are going to spend 2 nights there, so they'll be closer to the girls and Jeff has to go back to work tomorrow. Thank goodness that Connie and Jerry (Jenni's mother and father) are coming to help this week. Happy Easter!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Jeff reads Dr. Seuss books all day to the L Girls!
The image of Jeff sitting and reading Dr. Seuss books to the twins is classic.
"I'll read to you every day said the Cat in the Hat.I'll read to you Logan, in the mogan, and that's no joken. I'll read to you Libby, right there in your cribby, I don't mean mibbee."
Love it!
Uncle Dan
Update from Uncle Mike
Thanks Sal. Such a wonderful time. We are so happy for you and Lar and your kids and the little ones. Wow.
Sure have been enjoying all the chatter and pictures.
Lar - thanks for that great email a couple days ago. So nice to be brought up to date and be included. Yeah.
Carol and I have been talking about a trip back there, but we will not do any planning or bug you until the kids are home and healthy and everyone is doing fine.
Sometime later.
Then we may slip back there for a peek and to hold them.
Love you all. Great time of life. Never seen Jeff so happy....he is lucky to have found Jenni.
- Uncle Mike and Aunt Carol
Update from Aunt Vicky
Hi all,
Jeffery called this morning and gave me a good update on his littlebaby girls. He and Jenni were hanging out at the hospital, waiting tosee them.Logan is doing really well and both Jeff & Jenni have gotten to hold her. Libby has struggled a bit, had a blood transfusion yesterday andhas been on a breathing machine (now off that I think). Also they have detected a heart murmur. They say that all of this is prettynormal for preemies, and are not too worried, overall the babies are doing pretty well considering they were 2 months early. An innersting piece of news is that the doctor now thinks that theyare identical after all. They were in 2 sacs which is typically fraternal, however on rare occasions the sac splits. He thinks this because the girls are just exactly alike. Same exact bone structureon the Xrays, and both babies are missing a rib!! This is not a concern, just unusual. Also same blood type, same weight (3.5 & 3.6at birth), etc. I think Jeff also said same DNA, but I don't know howthey know this ?They are in the best infant hospital in the state, so are gettingtremendous care. It is downtown Birmingham, so they are driving alot, and in fact hope to spend many nights in a hotel room that is onhospital premises. They will do this as much as they can afford. The church and both parents are helping them with this. The babies willbe in the hospital for 8 weeks. I'm sure this will be very hard onJenni.The day before the babies were born, Jeff got a video camera, and has taken lots of footage, including them both holding Logan. He is goingto put all this on a DVD and send it to me and to whoever wants one,just text him your address. Jer.... he wanted me to tell you that a video camera is a must! That's all for now. Jenni has been released, but they are spending every possible moment at the hospital, morning til late night, as are Grandpa Lar and Grammy Sal. All of them are exhausted but sound very, very happy. Sally will behappier when she gets to hold them. She cries at every visit, due to seeing them all wired and tubed. I told them that we were thinking of them every day and that we love them and their tiny little beautiful girls so very much.
GAV
Update from Grandpa Lar on Sunday, April 5th
Jenni is an incredible woman; she is so strong and will need that in the coming weeks. Her Mom and Dad were in Knoxville and got the word around 11:00 pm last night. He drove to the hospital in about 31/2 hours; normally about a 5 hour drive. Jenni's Mom; Connie, will be staying with Jenni for at least several weeks starting tomorrow. That will really help out. They are truly great people and Jeff is blessed to have great in-laws like I have had with Madeline and Phil. Jenni is scheduled to be discharged this coming Tuesday afternoon. We will keep you advised as soon as we find out any more information. Sally is sleeping right now in the recliner; she had a school weekend this weekend after writing two papers all last weekend and throughout the week. She was in class Friday night from 5-10 and then all day Saturday 8-5. She was doing homework last night at 11:30 when she got the call from Jeff. I had already gone to bed. We went to the hospital, visited with Jeff and Jenni after the birth and then went to their house and picked up a few things and came back to the hospital before getting home at 7:30 this morning. I slept a couple of hours but she could not sleep. We went back at 11:00 am and visited and then at 12:30 pm she went back to class and stayed until 5:30 today. The Instructor (from Boston) informed her if she had not come back when she did, she would have had to repeat the class. Anyway she stuck it out and completed her assignments and got credit for the class. Anyway we are both tired; Sally more than I and will keep you guys updated when we find out new information. We really appreciate your thoughts and prayers during this time.Take care and we love you all.
Grandpa Lar
Email from Tiffany
Heck yes we are the NEW BAD AUNTS baby!!!!
Mikey thanks for sending the wonderful pixs of the little ones!! So so precious!!!
I have loved reading everyone's emails...can't wait to meet them!!!
Email from Aunt Carol
Babies are beautiful! Can’t wait to hold them! Just to let all you Shack’s know that Uncle Mike and Aunt Carol are planning a trip to Alabama this summer to meet the newest family members!
Emails from Amber and Jeremy
Jeremy writes:
Congrats Shack’s!!
We are all going crazy on the west coast not being able to see them. Cant wait until that time comes!
To be exact…The fam just grew by 14%. By July it will be 21% larger! … I envision a two day present opening process at Xmas
J
Amber writes:
I'm so excited to be an aunt!
I can't wait to meet them! The pictures are incredible. You guys must be dying to hold them! I can't believe our family has just grown so much...I think those blonde little girls look like Aunt Sally
Pics are awesome, thanks Mikey for sending them!! I'm so excited for our new additions tothe family... so exciting. Great to see pics of Jenni as well -- I havebeen itching to see a big smile from the proud mama! So what is the actual birthday for the girls? April 4th?--
Meadie, NOT the youngest family member
(now, the new cool, bad aunt...inspired from only the best)
Email response from Uncle Dan
Congratulations! We are so excited to see the new additions to the family.
D
Email Update to Family from Grandpa Lar!
Hi Guys,
Attached are some photos of Jeff and Jenni's new additions! They are in the best baby hospital in the city and are getting excellent care. It looks like the twins will be staying there for about 8 weeks. That is sad, but for the best since they will need the special care needed for this type of birth. I was looking at my index finger and the distance from my knuckle to the end of my finger is about how long their feet are. This is where Logan and Libby will be living as they continue to develop and grow. The first baby was designated in the delivery room as the A baby; the second was the B baby. Jeff decided this was how they should be named; since Logan had an A in the name, the A Baby was Logan and Libby had the B in her name so the B Baby became Libby. In the pictures, Libby has a clear acrylic square shaped enclosure over her head where oxygen is supplied. Logan is the one not receiving oxygen. They cover the eyes to protect them from the blue warming lights you will see in the pictures.
Prayer Chain Email from Green Valley!
Prayer and Praise Reports from Green Valley Baptist Church
Dear Sally,
Praise and Prayer:
Jeff and Jenni Shackelford had their twin daughters over the weekend. Their names are Logan Mae and Libby Marie. They were delivered 9 1/2 weeks early and will be in the NICU at St. Vincent's for about 2 months. Please pray for them as their lungs continue to develop.
Matthew 5:3-9 "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God."
-
Welcome World, We're here!
It’s been one week since we got the phone call from Jeff at 10:30 p.m. to let us know that Jenni’s water broke! Apparently, her back had been hurting her all day long, and she just couldn’t get comfortable, but she had no ideas she was in labor! Libby and Logan were ready to come into this world, and there was no holding them back. Jeff rushed her to St. Vincent’s Hospital Saturday night, and she was already 5 centimeters dilated when she got there. Of course, we rushed there, also, and Chris and Cassandra (Jenni’s brother and sister-in-law) and Baby Callie were already in the birthing waiting room. Jenni’s parents were driving madly from Tennessee to join us. Jeff called us with regular updates from the birthing suite, and we all nervously waited. Finally, at 1:27, Logan Mae weighed in at 3.6 pounds and 12 minutes later, Libby Marie arrived at 1:39 a.m. and weighed in at 3.5 pounds. Jeff and Jenni got to spend a few minutes with their precious new girls and then they were whisked off to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Jeff joined us to share the good news and he just couldn’t stop crying and smiling. We all cried buckets of joy that night. We called everyone in the family, even if it was the middle of the night. After a while, we all got to join Jenni in her room, and she was tired, but happy. She looked great! Then we all went to the NICU and met Libby and Logan. The doctor said they were doing well for preemies and had a 90% chance of survival. He said the first 24 hours were crucial, and they would either get better or worse. That’s when the prayers started. These babies were in God’s hands! We stayed at the hospital until around 6 a.m., then Larry and I left to go to J & J’s house to pick up clothes for them and to feed Sugar and Darby. We called Devon and Mary and Marilyn, so they could spread the word at church. Lynn Copelan told me later that the word spread like wildfare through Green Valley, and we could feel the prayers. None of us slept that day and the babies did better and better…..it was Palm Sunday and we all were blessed!
Grammy Sally
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