VIDEO: The Twins that Were Born Holding Hands are Now Closer than Ever

Jenna and Jillian Thistlethwaite wowed the whole population when they came to this world holding hands. It was such a magnificent moment, both for their parents and doctors. They were born with a rare condition: they shared the same amniotic sac, a condition that still connects them in an unspoken way even after birth.

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The twins were born 45 seconds apart and they clasped hands as soon as they were close enough to each other.

Read the full story below, provided by Today.

Two-year-old sisters Jenna and Jillian Thistlethwaite hate to be apart. One will stand by the door crying for the other when separated. This is not surprising for the set of Orrville, Ohio, twins who captured national headlines two years ago for grabbing hands just seconds after they were born.

The girls were “monoamniotic twins,” meaning they shared an amniotic sac — instead of each having her own — during gestation. The rare condition carries great risks for complications, and while their mother spent 57 days on bed rest before she delivered the girls via C-section, the twins had few medical problems before and after their birth.

Jenna and Jillian, despite being born seven weeks early, have continued to thrive every day since. The two blonde girls are almost indistinguishable from each other. Their parents usually can tell them apart — Jillian has a small blue vein that cuts across her nose — but the person who does that the best is 3-year-old big brother Jaxon, who occasionally has to correct his parents about which girl is which.

The girls love to climb, go swimming and assert their wills whenever possible, particularly when fighting over toys. And while they adore their big brother, they can stand to be separated from him, unlike from each other.

Twins don’t run in the family for Thistlethwaite or her husband, and the couple were surprised by the news when they went in for a routine ultrasound about 19 weeks into the pregnancy. The girls were born May 9, 2014, and the photo that captured the nation’s heart happened by coincidence.

The hospital planned to document the birth as part of a Mother’s Day story being chronicled at the time by the local paper and a television station. The girls were born 48 seconds apart and then brought together immediately afterward, which is when one grabbed the other’s hand.

At the time, Thistlethwaite couldn’t see either one, since her view was blocked by a surgical curtain. Monoamniatic or “mono mono” twins are considered high risk because the fetuses can easily become entangled in each other’s umbilical cords, among other complications. Thistlethwaite then heard her two obstetricians explain what was going on.

The girls recently celebrated their second birthday at home with a family birthday party and are now enjoying the summer with story time at the library and visits to the swimming pool. Thistlethwaite said she continues to be grateful for all the care she gets from family doctors and the support she gets from relatives, friends and everyone in her community.