Double the Love! All the Sweetest Photos of Lady Antebellum's Hillary Scott's Newborn Twins

Hillary Scott and husband Chris Tyrrell's identical twin daughters Emory JoAnn and Betsy Mack made their debut on Jan. 29

01 of 08

A DOUBLE BLESSING

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Julie Paisley Photography

Lady Antebellum's Hillary Scott and husband Chris Tyrrell welcomed their second and third children, identical twin daughters Betsy Mack and Emory JoAnn, on Jan. 29 — and the blessing was an extra-special one for more than its double dose.

"We were taking it a week at a time. 'When are we going to announce this news?' Because I wasn't sure," Scott — who is also mom to daughter Eisele Kaye, 4½, and previously suffered a miscarriage before becoming pregnant with her twins — tells PEOPLE for this week's issue.

"It was emotional, because I'm like, 'Oh, we're going to have as many babies in our house as I hoped we would have,' " recalls the singer, 32. " 'It just isn't in the same timing that I thought it was going to be, but we are going to have our three.' "

02 of 08

WHO'S WHO?

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Julie Paisley Photography

For a portion of their PEOPLE photo shoot, Betsy and Emory were wrapped in their own individual-print blankets from Baby Tula: the adorable "Carry Me" design featuring koalas ($49), and the equally cute "Just Hanging" print featuring sloths (currently sold out).

"I wasn't sure how identical they were gonna be because they are genetically identical, but they have different features," explains Scott. "It was a literal prayer — 'Lord, please let me know how to tell them apart.' "

Luckily, Tyrrell stepped in to save the day. Says Scott, "Chris actually has painted Emory's nails from the very beginning, so in the middle of the night [we would] know who's who."

03 of 08

DAD TO THE RESCUE

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Julie Paisley Photography

Scott and Tyrrell, who serves as Lady Antebellum's drummer, made the decision that he would step back from the band to care for their daughters while Scott embarks on Lady A's Summer Plays on Tour this July.

"We feel at complete peace with the decision," Scott tells PEOPLE. "We're both equipping each other to do exactly what we're supposed to be doing right now."

Tyrrell, 31, says he's "looking forward to it. I've been a bandmate, employee, husband and dad, so I'm okay removing a hat." He jokingly adds, "Besides, when you looked at whether the band could do without me or her, there wasn't much question!"

04 of 08

PRO BIG SISTER

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Julie Paisley Photography

Of new big sister Eisele, Scott tells PEOPLE Betsy and Emory are "her babies" and that she was "so excited" to hear of her siblings' arrival, 10 days earlier than the family was expecting.

The singer also reveals Eisele has been singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" to her sisters to calm them down when they cry, adding, "It's been amazing to watch her be so nurturing. She's always been a really kindhearted, tender-hearted little girl, but they're her babies and she's helping do everything."

05 of 08

UNBREAKABLE BOND

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Julie Paisley Photography

"She was just so in awe of her little sisters and how we had talked to them and sang to them and talked about them and she'd watch my body grown, and felt them move," Scott says of Eisele. "[She felt the] same way we felt of like … one second, you're not holding them and then the next second, you are."

"She held them and we swaddled them up really good and she just sat there," adds Scott. "Then she would come to the hospital at night, after school, and that's when she would have a hard time leaving because we just weren't a complete family, and we felt the same way."

06 of 08

THE NAME GAME

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Julie Paisley Photography

The girls' names have sweet family ties. As Scott explains of Emory's moniker, it was chosen in honor of Tyrrell's paternal grandmother Emily Lou (whom his grandfather called Em), and Emory's middle name, JoAnn, is the name of Scott's maternal great aunt.

"I love family names but Emily Lou just didn't feel right," she says. "So we picked Emory because of Em but also because it means strong and brave."

"And then Betsy is Chris' great aunt," Scott shares. "So my aunt JoAnn and aunt Betsy hold the same exact positions on both sides of our family. And she's like 90-something — just the most spry, spunky [woman]."

07 of 08

THEIR OWN WAY

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Julie Paisley Photography

Scott explains to PEOPLE just why it was crucial for her to be able to tell her daughters apart as soon as possible.

"It was just wanting [to know] that they were going to have their own identities and wanting to, from as early on as possible, [encourage] their own identities," she says.

"I didn't want them to grow up one day and us be like, 'Yeah, so when you were about 3 weeks old, your dad and I totally forgot who was who, so you really could be Betsy and you really could be … ' " continues the Heart Break singer. "You hear stories about that all the time."

08 of 08

IT TAKES A VILLAGE

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Julie Paisley Photography

Self-admittedly "fiercely independent," Scott tells PEOPLE one big lesson she has learned in being a mom of three is how to ask for help without feeling bad about it.

"We just needed a village, and I've had a postpartum doula since the girls were 2 weeks old. She's been an absolute godsend, and then night nurses who, literally, it's like they've become a part of our family," she raves. "[I] just want to advocate for women who are embarking on motherhood, whether it be the first time or the second time and they get two and three at once ... "

"To be able to feel equipped and to feel like they have that support," says Scott. "Not just the emotional support of a text from a friend going, 'You got this, Mom,' but the physical, 'I'm in your house; I know I can't help you nurse your baby but what can I do otherwise?' That's one thing that I feel is just this really unhealthy, unrealistic level of pressure we are put [under]."

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