Meet Calder and Brooklyn

The twins are five months old, and I’m only now finding time to write their birth story. As usual, birth stories can be a little messy and full of medical details. Read with caution if you’re sensitive to that kind of thing.

But before I get to that, I wanted to talk about the babies’ names. Having meaningful names for our children is really important to Cameron and I. But there aren’t many names we both like. Brooklyn was, I think, the only name Cameron suggested that I actually liked. Brooklyn shares my middle name, Ann, which is also shared by my mom and grandma. To be fair, my grandma’s real name is Anna, and uses the nickname Ann. I’m fairly confident this name has been passed down through generations in tribute to Anna Kirstena Mortensen who left Denmark and crossed the United States as part of the Willie Handcart Company with the Mormon pioneers. (Cameron wanted to name our daughter Kirstena. As sweet as that is, it was a hard pass for me!) Anna’s daughter (also named Anna) helped settle the west as part of the hole-in-the wall expedition. She walked 200 miles with a one-year-old while also being pregnant! Anna also gave birth to triplets! 😱

William is a family name on Cameron’s side. Cameron also thought it was neat to have a son who goes by his middle name, like he does. (My husband’s full name is Robert Cameron Squires). Calder is both Welsh/Scottish in origin. Cameron was reading through a list of European baby names and we both liked the sound of “Calder” and it’s association. It also means “rocky waters” or “rough stream.”

Since my maiden name is “Waters” it was a happy accident that all of our children’s names have some sort of “water” association.

Marshall - a marsh is a wetland often found at the edge of a stream

Isla -  an island is a body of land surrounded by water - the isles of the sea 

Brooklyn - brook refers to a small stream

And of course we’ve already talked about Calder’s name relating to water.

I’m not going to lie. Twin pregnancy was really hard and pretty painful near the end. Previously, elective induction terrified me. With twins, they induce you 2 weeks early to avoid stillbirth complications. I was able to negotiate an induction for 37 weeks. And it went beautifully. My easiest delivery by far. Probably because my epidural was fully working this time!

Calder was baby A; he was head down and the larger baby, but Brooklyn (baby B) was breach. My Maternal fetal medicine specialist was comfortable with a breach delivery as opposed to a C-section. In fact, he even said that he prefers breach deliveries! 😂 I asked him why that was, and he said that he liked being in complete control of the situation, and didn’t have to wait for pushing! Ok dude. He was quirky, but very competent medically.

Twin deliveries are usually done in an operating room in case anything goes wrong. You have an anesthesiologist and a surgical team ready to go. Since baby A was head down, he was able to pave the way and make space for baby B to be delivered breech. In this situation, the medical team has to work quickly. I read that you really only have 10 minutes to get that second baby out. One doctor pushed on my abdomen to get baby B into position, and the other doctor reached up to break the water and grab the baby’s legs. The doctor had to differentiate between little arms and legs. The doctor who delivered Brooklyn was a neighbor and she did a great job! She asked to help deliver, I think because it’s a good learning opportunity. I’m all for medical training, but I was adamant that my MFM also be present in case things went haywire.

Calder was 6 lbs. 2.3 oz. Brooklyn was 5 lbs 14.9 oz. They were both 19.5 inches.

One of the most fun things about twins is that you really get to understand their personalities. With my first two children, I saw typical baby behavior, and definitely some personality differences, but watching two babies at the same developmental age makes you more keenly aware of their individuality.

In her first few weeks of life Brooklyn seemed to be a little more fussy. I joked that she was taking the “baby” role in the family very seriously. She’s drama, I would say. She had a permanent furrow in her brow.

My mom was finally able to get a visa to enter Japan. She helped me realize that Brooklyn wasn’t just grumpy, she was dealing with reflux. 

Brooklyn has grown up a few months and is now the happiest little baby. She was the first to roll over.

Calder was really such a chill baby at first, but now roles have reversed a bit. He is VERY sensitive to sound, and definitely let’s us know when he is upset. He really loves to be snuggled. He has a tender heart and sweet soul. He loves to smile too, and a think he is just what our family needs.

I have had almost constant help for the first 5 months of my twins’ life. We will see how things go now that I’m settling into our new home in Jacksonville FL! How have things been overall?? Well… being a twin means you might not get held as much as you want. It means that you might have to cry a little while longer. Especially if you see your twin picked up …when you aren’t. But it also means people want to oogle over you all the time. And ask if you are identical. When you are boy girl twins.  Being a twin with other little siblings at home means that someone is crying….nearly all the time. Even though things can be hard, I’m grateful for these little sweethearts.