Addy and Lily Altobelli, who were born connected at the abdomen and chest, are still getting used to their new normal at home after spending the first year of their lives in the hospital, their parents tell PEOPLE.
When Maggie and Dom Altobelli first learned they were expecting conjoined twins after her 20-week ultrasound, she thought to herself, “that’s all right, we’ll just separate them.”
“Little did I know what the obstacles were in doing that,” Maggie says.
With many challenges still ahead of them during the pregnancy, Maggie made an important decision after learning they were expecting girls: she wanted to give them names.
Dom and Maggie Altobelli with daughters Addy and Lily.Altobelli Family
“I just thought in order to normalize this pregnancy and make them live, we need to give them names,” Maggie says. “And I told Dom we could change them later, but their names, I’ve already picked them out, and they’re Hope and Faith.”
Those monikers ended up sticking with the girls even after their arrival on Nov. 18, 2020, but the couple both wanted to pick new first names.
“They’ve reached a new chapter,” Maggie recalls her husband saying to her. “Let’s call them Addy Hope and Lily Faith.”
Maggie and Dom Altobelli with daughters Addy and Lily.Altobelli Family
“We put a book out for the nurses to put their favorite memories of the girls or send them a little note,” Maggie says. “And so we read that whole book while we were waiting for the girls to come back from surgery.”
After getting updates every two hours, they finally got the call they were waiting for: “Addy and Lily have become two separate girls,” they were told.
“I just fell to the floor,” recalls Maggie. “Everybody was just crying and sobbing. There was so much joy.”
Less than two months later, Maggie and Dom were finally able to take their girls home to Chicago and “just be normal.”
“We’re so happy that they’re home. It’s just amazing,” Maggie says.
“I still cry to this day, just seeing the girls sitting in the living room and watchingFrozenor any Disney movie. Because it’s just that thing that you always hope for and imagine, and it’s really indescribable,” she adds. “I can’t describe how amazing it is.”
For Maggie, one of the biggest joys has been watching her now-14-month-old girls develop their own “big personalities.”
“Lily is very chill,” she says. “She’s very observant and you have to really work for her love and trust.”
“And then Addy is just very chatty,” she adds. “She loves everybody who comes into the room.”
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Addy and Lily Altobelli.Altobelli Family
Although making the decision to share their story wasn’t easy, Maggie and Dom ultimately felt it was the best way to both give back to other families who are going through similar journeys andraise moneyfor the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, “for giving us such a miracle.”
“We believe there can be a greater good that comes from our family’s story,” the couple said in a statement.
Maggie Altobelli with daughters Addy and Lily.Altobelli Family
As for what the future may hold, Maggie says she wants the twins to have lives filled with happiness.
“I just hope that whatever they do in life, they have a huge passion for, [it]” she tells PEOPLE. “I hope that they spread all the love that they’ve given us into the world.”
source: people.com
