Vickroy: Blizzard baby enjoys a milder birthday
Donna Vickroy dvickroy@southtownstar.com | (708) 633-5982 February 3, 2012 11:34PM
Libby Whitney holds her daughter Lucy in their home in Oak Lawn, IL on Thursday February 2, 2012. Lucy is one-year-old today; the anniversary of the third biggest snowstorm to hit the Chicago area. | Matt Marton~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: March 6, 2012 8:03AM
Good weather is a gift in itself, especially if it happens on your birthday.
Red-haired, blue-eyed Lucy Whitney squealed with delight as her mom pushed her in a swing at the park across the street from their Oak Lawn home.
The Southland’s Blizzard Baby turned 1 on a sunny 45-degree day, quite a change from the icy, snowstormy Feb. 2 on which Lucy Elizabeth Whitney entered the world.
“All this week, the weather has been crazy,” said Libby Whitney, but this time, in a good way, as temperatures flirted with 50.
Just a year ago, Libby and her husband, Ken, were fishtailing in the paramedics’ truck down a snow-covered 95th Street en route to Christ Medical Center, where their second child would be born at 6:25 a.m.
Yet, here on her first birthday, the family was playing at the park.
What a difference a year makes, Libby said. Indeed.
But the story of little Lucy has been one of contrasts from Day 1.
Lucy made her debut during the area’s biggest blizzard in recent history. And if the snow was swirling in a frenzy that night, it was nothing compared to the flurry of nerves whirling inside her parents.
The night before, Libby heeded her mom’s request that her oldest child, Ben, spend the night at Grandma’s — just in case.
Libby was feeling fine but, with her baby due any day and forecasters calling for several inches of snow, a sleepover seemed the smart thing to do.
Libby went to bed around 10 that night. At midnight, she awoke with minor pains. They persisted; their frequency increased.
At 1 a.m., Ken headed outside to start tackling the 4-foot drifts that rested against the house and blanketed the driveway.
An hour later, Libby realized her husband would never be able to shovel them out. With her contractions intensifying, she called police.
Before long, an Oak Lawn ambulance and two fire department plow trucks were out front. Two guys jumped out and started shoveling. Three paramedics helped Libby into the ambulance.
And they were off on the journey of a lifetime.
They arrived at the hospital around 4 a.m. Two hours later, Lucy bounced on the scene at
9 pounds and 211/2 inches.
“I knew it was snowing like crazy outside, but we were so removed from it inside the hospital,” Libby recalled. “It was a different world.”
Libby’s parents were able to bring Ben, now 5, along for a visit later that day, although it took them a couple of hours to make the typically 15-minute trip to 95th and Kostner.
Libby spent two nights in the hospital. Lucy stayed on a little longer until her bilirubin level improved.
“When I got home there was tons of snow,” Libby said. “It was so quiet and so magical, like we were in our own little world.”
Big brother Ben holds his arm above his head and recalls, “The snow was this high.”
But now on the anniversary of that chilly headliner, Ben was able to ride his Big Wheel up and down the sidewalk.
Ken and Libby met in college, singing a cappella at the University of Illinois. Ken, 32, leads a choir in Arlington Heights. He also works in the choir department at Robert Morris University.
Libby, 31, stays home with the children. A former special education teacher, she taught Lucy sign language.
Lucy has just started walking. “She gets excited for herself when she does it,” Libby said.
“She loves to dance, to imitate and to eat just about everything,” she said. “The opposite of her brother, who is very picky.”
Afraid to plan a big party during what has proven to be a week of unpredictable weather, Libby said only nearby family would mark Lucy’s birthday this weekend.
“We didn’t want guests to have to travel in the case there was another blizzard,” she said. “Who knew it would be this nice?”
They’ll have a bigger blowout, a Hawaiian luau, this summer in their back yard.
Then, little Lucy will have her celebration cake for smashing and piggy cupcakes for the guests.
Meanwhile, Libby said she and Ken are enjoying reminiscing about their little girl’s first big night.
“It was so special because it was so different,” she said.
And because it turned out perfectly.
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