Growing Like Weeds

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Brooks and I have cut back on the night nurse visits and my time is now spent feeding, changing diapers and pulling out my hair!

Since it's been about a week since I last posted on my blog, the following photos of Mason and Ike will show them in a completely different light. No longer do they just sleep, feed and cry all with their eyes closed. Now they spend most of the days with their beautiful eyes wide open staring at their surroundings. It's been neat for Brooks and I to try to project what their personalities are now that they seem like actual 'babies.' As of a doctors visit last Friday, Ike was 11 lbs. 2 oz. and Mason was 11 lbs. even. You can see from the glamour shots that they have both been feeding well.

In terms of their behavior, there has been a definite flip flop when it comes to throwing tantrums. Ike has really come into his own over the last week and seems a lot more comfortable in his surroundings. As a result, he doesn't cry as much and he sleeps more peacefully. It's good to see that his acid reflux is starting to subside every so slightly. Mason, on the other hand, has become our little drama queen. She is the twin that now seems to cry now for no apparent reason. I think it's because she needs constant stimulation. Brooks and I joke that she is a six-week old who thinks she should be treated like she's three months old.

I promise there will be more frequent posts from now own!!! We all head to Litchfield Beach on Saturday (even Simba too) for a week with Brooks' family, so there will be plenty of new photos to share.

Almost forgot - my cousin Bennett Patella had a baby boy this morning. His name is David Hunt Patella and they're calling him Hunt. He weighed 7 lbs. The last photo in the sequence below is a photo of Hunt.

Getting My ZZZ's On

Well, I’m in day three – make that NIGHT three – of my chance to catch up on some much-needed sleep. As mentioned in the last blog post, Brooks took Mason, Ike and Simba to Greensboro on Sunday to spend the week with her parents. I am starting to feel a little bit guilty. Brooks and the twins have been doing very well at her parents’ home, but she and her mom certainly aren’t getting any quality sleep. They have been trading nights tending to Mason and Ike, but regardless of who has baby duty, neither has been able to eek out more than a few hours of sleep each night. We’re still waiting for that so-called ‘routine’ to set in. The guilt I’m feeling stems from the fact that I now have a completely quiet house to call my own and can wake up to an actual alarm instead of the shrieks and cries I have become accustomed to over the last five weeks. Even a day trip I made to Atlanta today didn’t seem so tiring when compared to what I have become accustomed to recently. That being said, there is hardly a moment that goes by when I don’t long for Mason and Ike to be back home so I can resume my paternal duties. The quiet is nice for a while, but I’m ready for it to end.

While surfing the Internet tonight I stumbled on some clever comics related to babies crying. All parents should find some or all of these humorous.

90 Years Is A 'Big' Deal!

Friday night was a special occasion in the Grainger family. Just a little more than one month after Ike V was born Ike Jr. celebrated his 90th birthday. It’s hard to fathom that there are 89 years and 332 days that separate these two Ike’s. A nice gathering of family and friends helped ‘Big’, as many people like to call him, ring in this historic moment with a raucous party (well, maybe that’s a bit of an overstatement) at Quail Hollow Country Club. There were humorous skits performed, nostalgic stories told, great company, delicious food and plenty of wine, all of which combined to make this night extremely special.

One of the highlights included his kids – Ike, Jim and Margaret – reading happy birthday letters that he had received over the last week from some very distinguished individuals. Among the well-wishers that took the time to send a letter to Big were Dean Smith, Arnold Palmer and George H.W. Bush. As I sit here and type this and think about the 34 years I have had the pleasure to have my grandfather such a large part of my life, I am continuously amazed at how many other lives Big has touched and the incredible impact he has made on his family and friends. What a great legacy to leave for the rest of the IBG’s.

The update on Mason and Ike is that they are enjoying their first visit in Greensboro with grandparents Carolyn and Bob. Brooks loaded up the car today with the twins (and Simba of course) and headed up I-85 to spend some time with her family and show Mason and Ike off to her friends in Greensboro. Brooks reports that amazingly, after an initial crying episode from Mason in Concord, the entire hour and a half trip was without incident. Now I understand why I always hear stories of parents loading up their crying kids into a car and driving around to quiet them down. So far a nice bumpy car ride has been a very effective weapon to combat Ike’s and Mason’s crying spells.

A New Olympic Sport?

What a week it’s been at the Grainger household. For some reason, Mason and Ike used their one-month anniversary this past Sunday to perfect a new, almost Olympics-worthy skill – ‘synchronized’ crying. For the first four weeks of their life they were oblivious to what the other was doing. One would cry and the other would sleep. The other would sleep and one would cry. It was definitely a manageable situation between Brooks and me. Now, Mason and Ike work in perfect unison. They can both be in a deep sleep, but as soon as one of them starts to chirp, the other chimes in almost immediately. These synchronized outbursts start innocently enough but inevitably culminate into something so shrill and painful to the ear that I can’t believe the sound is coming from such small beings. We aren’t sure exactly what’s causing these tantrums – maybe reflux, gas, hunger, the need for attention??? – but they certainly make us wonder if all parents of multiples have endured this type of dual chaos. Even Simba has started to become affected by the disruption of his peace during these crying episodes, often times nuzzling his head underneath a pillow or letting out a loud sigh.

So I guess, given these set of circumstances, this week was the perfect time for me to make an overnight business trip, which is exactly what I did on Monday night. Late last week I found out I had to be in Atlanta for a client meeting this past Tuesday morning. ‘Reluctantly’ (yea, right), I planned my overnight trip and booked a room at the luxurious W Hotel in Midtown Atlanta. As I retired to my king-sized pillow top bed at approximately 11:44 p.m. on Monday night, I can honestly say it took me all of 15 seconds to fall asleep. Sure, I felt a little guilty for leaving Brooks, Mason and Ike for the first time since their birth, but not quite guilty enough to keep me from my best night’s sleep in a long time.

Below are some new photos of Mason and Ike, and as you can probably tell, they are growing like weeds. Today they had another regularly-scheduled appointment with the pediatrician. Everything checked out well. Ike tipped the scales at 10 lbs. 1 oz. and Mason weighed in at 9 lbs. 12 oz. Ike, who seems to suffer more from reflux and gas, has been switched to a new formula. I think the visit to the doctor’s office wore them out, because this evening they slept for almost three straight hours with NO CRYING all the way up until our night nurse arrived. Brooks and I were able to enjoy a rare dinner before 9 p.m. Oh, how much the simple luxuries in life mean to us these days.

Projectile Emesis

I have always been one of those people who is very squeamish around vomit/throw up/puke/barf or whatever you want to call it. Maybe it's because I rarely did it growing up or do it now. Yes, I have had plenty of bouts of being nauseous and my gag reflex works extremely well. But for some reason, when it comes to actually producing the 'content,' I have always had a hard time actually barfing (even when I have the stomach flu - painful dry heaving seems to be the norm). Maybe that’s why my puke-phobia started and has continued to manifest itself.

I remember when I was a kid, anytime someone would toss their cookies I would do whatever I could to get as far away as possible. One time, when I was about nine years old and my cousin Angus and I were throwing the baseball in my front yard, he suddenly keeled over and started throwing up Orange Crush soda and a granola bar he had just eaten. My immediate reaction: to get the hell out of Dodge. I freaked out and ran five houses up the street to distance myself from this incident until it was resolved.

Now that I'm a father of two newborns, I’ve learned within the last few days that I have to put aside my propensity to recoil in the presence of vomit (or yellow poop with seeds). Both Mason and Ike have quickly acquired a violent ability to launch their recently-consumed formula several feet over either Brooks’ or my shoulder. And in case you’re curious, no, I haven’t stormed out of the house and run down our street to escape these situations. Now that the twins are getting bigger (each is over 9 lbs.!!) and taking in about 4 oz. of formula per feeding, I think their digestive systems are having a hard time holding everything down. We’re just going to have to deal with this as they grow and their stomachs expand. However, when they do get older and their vomiting becomes a symptom of some highly-contagious stomach flu that they caught at play group, I can’t promise you that I won’t relapse into my former squeamish self and sprint down the street.

(By the way, while I’m on the subject of vomiting, here’s my Cliff Clavin ‘Cheers’ moment. Did you know that rats are one of the only animals that are physically incapable of throwing up or burping? Other animals in this category (like me?) include mice, guinea pigs, rabbits and Japanese quails. Feel free to use that piece of trivia the next time you’re around friends.)

Brooks and I had a pleasant surprise yesterday when my grandparents, Dee and Pat, stopped by to see Mason and Ike for the first time. They are no strangers to twins. Two of Pat’s daughters have twins and she has a total of nine grandchildren. However, when my cousin Bennett gives birth in September, Dee will have five GREAT-grandchildren. Pat jokes that on their Christmas card this year the front should say ‘Hers’ - and show all of her grandchildren - and the inside should say ‘His’ - and show all of his great-grandchildren. Today they were nice to stop by with Pat's daughter Betsy (who has three children of her own) and keep Mason and Ike for three hours while I went to hit some golf balls and Brooks ran some errands. Every little reprieve we get helps so much. Obviously I still don't have my priorities in order!!


Brooks' mom Carolyn and Mason



















Pat and Dee

Brothers And Sisters

Brooks and I were feeding Mason and Ike tonight and we had a sudden realization that in their three weeks of life, they had rarely spent a moment together, side by side, as they were in the womb for nine months straight. Ever since they entered this world on July 13, they’ve slept in separate cribs, napped in a bassinet that has a divider, and been fed apart in either Brooks’ or my arms (or their grandparents’ or the night nurse). But no matter the situation, they've typically been apart.

I know as three-week olds they are just starting to come into their senses and probably aren’t too aware of who or what is around them, but it’s kind of sad to think that these little babies who were pressed tightly up against each other and jockeying for position in Brooks’ stomach for such a long time now rarely see or feel each other’s presence. So I started thinking. If they end up like my twin sister Corinna and I did, then they will be each other’s own best friends for the rest of their lives. Now I doubt if it started when were just three weeks old, but I know the bond we share today started forming at a very early age, based on my parents’ accounts and the vivid memories I have from a very young age. I was the one who would steal Corinna’s pacifier when I chewed mine to bits. I was the one who would escape from of my pre-school class to roam the halls of Christ Church to see which room she was in. And I was the one who would sneak back into Corinna’s room at night to sleep in her extra bed even though my parents had finally deemed us old enough to have our own rooms. Apparently, no actually, I was the twin who could not be separated, who needed the constant presence of Corinna to be comforted. Of course, I was the “younger” sibling (by all of two minutes). I guess I needed the reassurance of my “older” sister.

So tonight Brooks and I wanted to let Mason and Ike spend some quality time together and see what type of reaction their presence elicited from each other and to start this bond that will persist throughout their lives. It was pretty amazing. They immediately took to each other and, at least in the perception of gloating parents, were genuinely comforted and relaxed by their together-time. As he did whenever he was next to her in the hospital after birth, Ike could not take his eyes off of Mason. I’m convinced it must be because, like me, he is the “younger” sibling, even if it’s only by one minute, and he will always need the reassurance of his older sister. They looked at each other, wiggled toward each other and just seemed happy to be finally be together again in such close quarters. How exciting it will be for Brooks and me to watch as they come into their own personalities and develop as brother and sister.

The Value Of Twins (Photos)

In breaking news, People Magazine has won the competitive bidding war for the exclusive rights to publish photos of Brad and Angelina’s newborn twins, Vivienne and Knox. The price tag - a whopping $11 million. What a redeeming testament to how our society has its priorities in place. More than 11,000 babies are born everyday in the U.S., over 200,000 worldwide, and a set of Hollywood twins is so star-studded and revered (http://www.babyrazzi.com/) that they are already fetching tens of millions of dollars for their exclusive photos. Talk about pressure to grow up and become beautiful just to justify this paycheck.

Actually, if I were Brad and Angelina, I would use this fortunate circumstance as an opportunity to transition into a far less stressful career than movie making - Making babies!!!. Think about it. When you film a movie, you’ve got to be on location for 4-6 months at a time at multiple locations across the world and work round the clock. For most of that time, you’re away from your family. Then you risk having your movie completely panned by the critics (see "Lara Croft Tomb Raider" or "The Mexican" for reference). If Brad and Angelina made a commitment to start procreating every year and selling their newborn photos to the tabloids, then they’re earning at a minimum $11 million annually. Not too shabby for a few minutes of "work." No traveling to distant/separate movie-set locations. No leaving Shiloh, Zahara, Maddox, Pax, Vivienne or Knox alone in a 10,000 square-foot mansion with a team of nannies for months at a time. All Brad and Angelina have to do is continue to conceive and deliver to sustain their lifestyle.

Back to reality. Today was the first weekend that it was just Brooks, me, Mason and Ike in the house. The last two weekends we had Brooks’ mom with us helping out, so we had the additional bandwidth that allowed me to relax a bit in the morning and semi-delegate duties knowing that I had capable reinforcement. But today there was no such thing as relaxation or delegating or reinforcement I was thrust to the front line. As soon as our night nurse left at 6:45 a.m., our baby monitor exploded with a duet of cries and shrieks. I’ve constantly been amazed at how Mason and Ike can sense when our night nurse leaves in the morning and proceed to do whatever it takes to get Brooks or me back into the nursery at the precise moment she walks out the door. Today, from 6:45 until 3 p.m. when my parents finally came by for some much-needed child care support, neither of us even stepped foot outside the house (except for one 10-minute Starbucks run I made at 10:30 a.m.). For more than eight hours straight, Brooks and I tag-teamed on a variety of duties, including feeding, burping, changing diapers, holding, rocking, comforting, washing bottles, (cursing #&%), doing laundry and generally trying to maintain our sanity. As I type this blog entry, I am pleased to say we made it through the day and everyone is in tact! Tomorrow (and the for the foreseeable future) this process will repeat itself.

Before I tee up the most recent photos of Mason and Ike, let me say a special thanks to Katherine and Whit Mulford for hosting us for dinner at their house Friday night, especially since they themselves just got settled after moving to Charlotte from Atlanta a few weeks ago. They are also the parents of twins. It was our first night out since Mason and Ike were born and it was a much-needed break. Katherine is co-founder of Turq Jewelry and I promised her over dinner I would give her company a nice plug in my next blog entry (this is as close as I’ll ever come to having advertisers on the blog, without the actual ad revenue, of course). The Turq Jewelry selection is incredible and is priced very reasonably and the Web site has been a nice resource for me during all of the gift-giving occasions. Please check out their Web site at http://www.turqjewelry.com/ because I certainly can't do it justice on this blog.

Now to the photos: