Who doesn't like to eat??

Our four day stay in the hospital felt like a week and a half. One of my goals while there was to get tandem nursing down so that I won't have to feed twenty hours a day. Things were going well and the twins looked like they were on the same schedule. Then two days later, they had their pediactric appointment in the hospital. I was shocked when the nurse returned to tell me that Carter had lost 10.8% of his birth weight and Ainsley had lost 12%.

First setback:
I was so stressed when I found out and was so sad to think that the twins were exerting so much effort this whole time only to not get much for it. I only had colostrum at this point and turned to formula to get their weight back up since that wasn't enough. The hospital sent a Medela Symphony to help get my milk in quicker. Their weights came back up a bit on the day we were discharged and we immediately made appointments with their pediatrician.

Second setback:
The two visits with their pediatrician showed that the twins were gaining weight so he wasn't concerned. Jaundice levels were low and low/intermediate. He told us to keep supplementing formula or expressed milk with nursing and thought that their weights should reach their birth weight in four days. Then we could rely strictly on nursing afterwards. I wasn't comfortable that that the twin's next doctor visit wouldn't be until their monthly visit. What if they don't gain their birth weight back? How would we know if they will continue to gain weight if we stopped supplementing? So we purchased a HealthOMeter baby scale to alleviate those concerns.

My sister told me a test that a lactation consultant did with her daughter where they weighed her before a nursing session. Then the consultant stayed during an hour long nursing session and weighed her daughter again afterwards. Her daughter had only drank 2 ounces during that whole time. We implemented the same test with the twins and to our utter dismay, Ainsley gained half an ounce and Carter didn't gain any. Pause. Mini breakdown. Breathe. Next.

My friend referred us to a great lactation consultant who had twins herself. She informed us that some twins who are born before 40 weeks actually were not born with the instinct to feed since they are still supposed to be in the womb. It's not all twins but that seems to be the case with ours. So new regimen consists of trying to nurse the twins for practice 2-3 times a day, bottle feeding, burp, change and pumping session to keep milk production up. I was lucky that my milk production is decent due to my mom's secret soups and fenugreek.

These marathon long feeding sessions are a lot of work and barely leave time in between for anything else. (Maybe a catnap or a blog post.) Ainsley drinks from the bottle like a champ and gulps down 2.5-3 ounces in less than 10 minutes. Will likes to joke that she has her daddy's chugging skills. (He'll regret that later) Carter, on the other hand, drinks at a snail's pace. At one point when we switched to Avent bottles (closer to nursing), he was taking an hour for 2 ounces so we had to switch him back to the Medela bottles which were the equivalent of pouring milk down his throat. He would take rest breaks in between drinking where I would have to burp him and most frustrating, he'd just fall asleep. We've tried tickling his feet, rubbing his head, tickling his hands & neck, undressing him as well as changing him. Recently, Will found another trick to get him to eat.

Will loves to play music for the babies. In the hospital, he would play Billy Joel's "Goodnight My Angel" lullaby to signify that it was time to sleep.

Feeding time required something more upbeat so Will would play Jon Schmidt's "Love Story Meets Viva La Vida". This song has special meaning for us since it was the song I chose to have in my wedding for my bridesmaids to walk down to. There was actually no sheet music for it and huge thanks to some really talented friends from church (Gary, Ian and Jeff), they figured out how to play this for my wedding. I got choked up hearing this because this song reminded me where Will and I once were and where we've come. The twins wouldn't be here if not for that day, our desires for them and God. I thank God every day that they are here with us.

Last night, Will thought of another song to play to Carter to motivate his hunger. It was a funny song that I'd listened to during my pregnancy called "Four Chords" by Axis of Awesome. After 30 minutes of sleeping after only drinking half his bottle of milk, Carter woke up and chugged the other half. So thank you, Axis of Awesome.

Game Time

On February 6th, 2013 Lovanna and I hopped in my new pimp-mobile, or as some experts refer to it, a 2010 Honda Odyssey EX-L. We drove anxiously to Mt. Carmel St. Annes, where we had a scheduled C-Section at 8:00.  Unfortunately somehow we got our times all screwed up and thought it was scheduled for 8:30. Suffice it to say we were late. That's okay, they thought we were going to do a natural delivery.

They got everything straightened out and by 9:30 we were in a pre-delivery room where Robin, our RN for the morning, was getting everything ready. She was awesome, and walked us through what the day would be like. Everything went according to plan, but let me tell you - when they tell you it will be 5-10 minutes while they prep your wife before they will come get you they really mean it will be the longest 5-10 minutes of your life. I swear I paced back and forth in that room for a good 30 minutes and 400 miles.

So once the procedure was ready I was ushered into a room, where they sat me down on a chair next to the nurse anesthetist, who had been informed that I might pass out if I saw too much blood. Lovanna was, at this stage, a little loopy from the spinal tap. A few seconds later we began to smell something burning, which was very quickly followed up by the first sounds of young Carter saying hello:

His sister joined us 3 minutes later, but her operating room pics are not approved for web publishing..

But here she is a few minutes later after a wipedown..

Coincidentally while our sleep patterns were being destroyed, so was the east coast. Winter Storm Nemo dropped feet of snow on parts of the coast, letting the whole world know there were 2 more Nemo's entering the world!

After things got settled, family came in to meet the newest members of the family: (Photos courtesy Stella and Henry, who were too busy taking pictures to have any taken with them! )

We ended up staying 4 days at the hospital because both of the twins had lost more than 10% of their body weight. By Sunday morning, we were ready to get home.  We packed them up, and were on our way..

This had been a crazy week - challenging and rewarding like nothing else we'd ever done...

Whats in a name (Pt. 2)

So there's a long winded explanation to the origin of Carter's name. For Ainsley - not so much.

We had gone through hundreds of names, and there was almost no overlap between the names that we both liked, our friends hadn't used, or one of us wasn't adamantly opposed to. Mandatory Venn Diagram:

See that little smidge in the middle? We knew it had to exist. We spent weeks going through websites trying to find 2 names we'd like. (At this point, we didn't know the genders of the twins.. ) I'd like Sloan, but she'd oppose it. She'd suggest Collette and I'd dread it. We had come up with exactly one name we could agree upon: Avery. I didn't love it, but I wouldn't have been opposed. I really wanted to give Lovanna more influence over her name as she had acquiesced on Carter. My main reservation on Avery was that it was nearing the top 10 of names and I prefered something a little more unique.

So there were names we kinda liked, but just weren't ready to use. There were others we really liked, but had already been taken. Then we came across the Baby Name Finder and began looking at names we liked. It actually showed us quite a few names I hadn't thought of.

This isn't the actual name map, but it was very similar to this:

When I saw Ainsley, it had a ring to it. I didn't say anything because I was so accustomed to having any name I liked shot down. Then it happened; Lovanna commented 'What about Ainsley?' and the seed was planted. I fell in love almost instantly. The name has a Gaelic root, meaning a wooded clearing or a Meadow. I liked the name Meadow, but I couldn't see naming my daughter after a Soprano's character.

Lovanna didn't instantly fall in love - in fact we went  back and forth for months. If we had ended up with 2 little girls, they would have been Avery & Ainsley. (Side note - if we ended up with 2 boys, it would have been a disaster. )

I think Ainsley took the lead one night when we were at the WORST STORE EVER buying fabric when a mother called to her daughter, Ainsley. We were almost in shock, as we had never heard it in real life before. I think the lady could tell because she looked at us. We told her we were thinking about using the name, and she explained that Ainsley had been the only one in her classes, and how she thought it fit her daughter (who, by the way, was very independant and was not about to let her mom pick out the fabric for her clothes).

As for the spelling, there is a tradition on my mom's side of the family that all the girls get a Y in their name - my mother was Martha Lynn, my aunts Mary Beth and Robyn, and my Grandmother Martha Evelyn. Ainsley will keep this tradition alive.

As far as her middle name - Mattox. This is my mother's maiden name. While I will always be a Nimmo, there is a large part of me that is a Mattox. When my parents divorced I was a small child,  and I spent alot of time with my grandparents. They provided alot of stability that I would not have otherwise have had. They became like a second set of parents to me, and for all they have done for me I will be eternally grateful. In this way their memory will live on through Ainsley.
And because I know this is why some of you come to the site, mandatory cute picture time:



Lovanna's first time changing Ainsley - and she got a surprise!



I throw my hands up in the air sometimes...

our new very demanding bosses

Hi friends! Thanks for visiting and checking out the growth and milestones of baby Carter and Ainsley. Both Will and I contribute to this journal since we have different perspectives of what this time entails and means for us. One thing we know is that this has been one of the happiest and most precious times we have ever experienced. Despite the exhaustion (it is nonstop) and the hardships, we will jump anytime either babies start to cry so we can feed, change, burp, soothe or any other whim that needs catering to.

Carter's wearing a diaper cover that I crocheted. The pattern said 0-9 months.
I'm not sure the diaper cover will fit much longer than these next couple of weeks.

Carter's eyes are always wide open and he has a lot of funny facial expressions. Here is Will and my attempt to get a diaper cover only pic (like the pros) of Carter. This is a rare feat because he usually cries the minute all his clothes come off. Both babies hate to be cold. We've since discovered that professional photographers will have a heatlamp to get those gorgeous newborn pics.

Ainsley is more reserved with her expressions and usually keeps her eyes close. I found a rare moment where her eyes were open for a few minutes-long enough for me to snap this pic.



I don't know why but this pic cracks me up.
They are dressed up for Valentine's Day.



Whats in a name?

So why Carter Lee Nimmo?

Frankly, because I have loved that name for years, and Lavonna knew I loved it so much that she let me pick it. So this is really just my explanation of why I love the name so much that I would choose it for my son.

The name Carter has been around for a long time - wikipedia will tell you that Carter is a surname derived from merchants who moved things in carts.

The first time I heard Carter as a first name was a guy who played left field for my church softball team. I know slow pitch softball isn't a real sport, but I was still impressed at his skill. The second time was in the movie 'Deep Blue Sea' where you'll remember Carter was diving into the ocean to wrestle sharks on steroids.

Yet another reference to Carter was Anthony Carter, one of the greatest wide receivers to ever play for Michigan. The resemblance is overwhelming - and I'm tempted to nickname his ATM.

So none of those would actually warrant the naming of your first-born. But as most of you know, I have been fortunate enough to have spent a decent amount of time working for Habitat For Humanity. Twice, I have had the opportunity to work on a Jimmy & Rosalyn Carter Work Project - once in Detroit, and once in Compton.

While President Carter may go down in history as a horrible President, he is a great man. His efforts include his contribution to Habitat, as well as many other efforts around the world such as the eradication of the Guinea Worm in Africa. I had the pleasure of working with Rosalyn painting baseboard in Compton, and if you want a laugh - ask Vu about my story with the former first lady.

So when you put all these things together, I was really hopeful I might one day have a son and name him Carter. It may have been a little obvious when half of my video game characters were named Carter, including my firstborn in Sims.. I will be eternally grateful to my wife for allowing me to name Carter.

His middle name is Lee - referencing Lovanna's maiden name. Lee also happened to be the middle name of my brother, and numerous members of my Grandfather's lineage.

Here's a picture of Allison , Carter, Ainsley and Isabella I like to call 'One of These is Not Like The Other'



And a few more:

Welcome to our blog!

Hi - You've found the home of Ainsley and Carter Nimmo. Our two little ones were born during the snowy morning of February 6th, 2013. Carter arrived 3 minutes before his sister, though the birth records indicate only a 2 minute disparity.

Little Carter was born weighing 6lbs, 2oz, and measured 19 inches tall. (We have since learned through our pediatrician that he is only 18 1/2 inches tall. )

Through the pregnancy, Ainsley had spent much of the time transverse, and once Carter was no longer in the womb with her, she decided to enjoy the space and go breach. Dr. Heidi Arbona and staff did an excellent job during the C section, and the kids were up with us on the patient floor within a few hours.




Once we found out that we would be having twins, I was an nervous wreck. I managed to convince my lovely wife to have an ultrasound done at week 15 as my birthday present. We went to have an early ultrasound done at UltraSona , and were joined by Aunty Suzanna. Almost immediately 'Baby A' was identified as being a baby boy. I was ecstatic as I was sure we were having two baby girls as some sort of cosmic revenge. My elation very quickly turned to nervous anticipation as I knew how badly my wife wanted a baby girl of her own. If we were to have twin sons, it would have been almost guaranteed we'd try again for a girl. I was already intimidated at the thought of twins. After much effort, and going over our time allotment, the technician was able to get the umbilical cord out of the way, and the news was in - Baby B was a baby girl. There was much rejoicing. I still say a thank you prayer every time I drive by that intersection..

From there, logistical planning took place. As she was keeping the genders a secret for her baby shower, creating a baby registry became somewhat complicated. We registered for just about every gender neutral item we could. Mom began designing a nursery, and I began trying to finish every project I could before they arrived.

 Finally the nursery was designed, and I did my best not to screw it up:



She came up with an idea for our bonus room, so we loaded up the in-laws minivan to the brim with expedit shelving from Ikea. We now have expedits everywhere you can imagine: the nursery closet, Henry's room, and as storage in the bonus room.

Knowing that little Timmy would be over to visit his cousins frequently, I had to come up with an electronics protection plan. An entertainment center was acquired, and with my buddy Matt's help, it now looks like a professional isntallation:

(Also point of emphasis - my AWESOME Christmas present from my totally AWESOME wife - the framed Michigan Helmet. )

While I'd like to say I completed all the projects I had lined up - that would be a falsehood. While my in-laws hail from Hong Kong, I would not bat an eyelash if I were to find out they were really natives from the north pole. Because our house is 'too hot', they've requested a room in the basement. This doesn't seem like an outlandish request given that we will now have 7 of us living in a 4 bedroom house. Should the twins need their own room , we'd need the extra space. My lovely wife has also desired a space for her and her friends to be able to Yoga - so multipurpose gym/yoga/extra bedroom was planned.

While we wanted something that was aethestically pleasing, I was not going to put Pergo into a damp basement with a crawlspace. I also wasn't going to sink thousands into hardwood. My buddy Bill mentioned some tile he had put into his bathroom that looks like tile. Less than a thousand for a decent looking floor that I could install myself - sounded like a plan.

I didnt quite finish, as the floor still needs to be cleaned so that it can be grouted. There are a few creases I'm nto proud of, but for being a guy only with a bit of Habitat For Humanity experience, I'll take it. Total cost was under a grand all said and done.

Next time I get a chance, I'll try and get some photos from the hospital up!