June 17, 2022
In his professional life, Drew Kozub wears many hats. He is a radio host on KiSS 102.3 FM Winnipeg; a weekly technology and gaming columnist for Breakfast Television on Citytv, and an in-game co-host with the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre.
Away from work, Kozub has taken on an additional role – that of new father to identical twin boys. Drew and his wife, Allie Kozub, welcomed Casimir and Thorin into the world on May 11 at St. Boniface Hospital.
Born six weeks prematurely, both infants were admitted to the Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Casimir came home on May 26, and Thorin followed him home on June 9.
As a thank-you to Foundation donors who made his family’s stay in the NICU more comfortable, Kozub agreed to answer a few questions in time for his first Father’s Day.
What did you think when you heard “twins” for the first time?
We were shocked, as I’m sure anyone would be. However, twins run on both sides of our family; my wife is a twin, and her sister had twins. So, early in the pregnancy, our doctor advised taking the Harmony prenatal test, which can detect twins with a high accuracy rate. We took the test, and it came back with one fetus only.
Two days later, just for fun, we went to Babymoon Ultrasound for a non-diagnostic ultrasound, and it was an absolute shock. We discovered it was in fact twins, and we were off to the races!
On the way home from Babymoon, we were like, “OK, we have to sell this car and buy a bigger one; we have to get double the strollers; you reach out to your sister, she just had a baby; I’ll call my friend in Calgary who had twins. Time to get cracking.”
How did you choose the babies’ names?
Allie and I had a lengthy list of boys’ names. We were thinking of different influences from different areas – inspired by a book or movie we both like, and our heritage, for example. We both have Icelandic roots and I have Ukrainian on my side.
Thorin checked two boxes with one because it’s a Nordic, Scandinavian-sounding name, but it’s also from a novel, The Hobbit.
Casimir was a name that I thought sounded cool, and it’s sort of Ukrainian, Polish, and Eastern European. Also, we are hoping there aren’t going to be too many other Casimirs and Thorins in their classrooms, growing up. But they won’t find any personalized keychains.
What does becoming a father mean to you?
For me, it means going into a new phase of life. I’ve had a good life, so far, and my wife and I always talked about having kids someday. Then we started trying to have kids, and now we’re in this reality where our family has grown. For me, it’s about going into a new and quite different chapter of life; one that I’m looking forward to.
What was your family’s experience at St. Boniface Hospital like?
We were nervous to know what kind of condition the babies were going to arrive in. We had good indicators, leading up, those things were going to be generally OK, but you know, you’re always worried.
When the babies were born, they had a whole crew from the NICU in the delivery room with us. We got to see the babies briefly in the delivery room before they were whisked away, I went and followed the babies to the NICU. They let me be there for the babies getting settled into the NICU, and then I sauntered back to the delivery room and left the babies in the care of the nurses while I went to be with my wife as she recovered. Then she and I went to see them together about two hours later.
It was truly clear early on that the babies were in exceptionally good hands. You could tell that the nurses were all busy during their shifts, but they all care so much about each baby there.
When there was time, you would see the nurses scooping up a baby to cuddle it, snuggle it, and talk to it. So, it felt like the babies were being cared-for in all the sorts of needs that a newborn would need to be addressed.
They put a lot of effort into making us feel included, as parents. You have two inexperienced people around, but it was a perfect training ground for anticipating the day that we would bring the babies home. There was a welcomeness to be a part of everything we could be a part of.
Any time something intimidated us because we didn’t know what we were doing, the nurses made sure to find time to show us how to do those things, to build up our confidence. The level of care that we got couldn’t be matched anywhere else.
What has your dad taught you about fatherhood?
Overall, it is acceptance and support. I’ve always felt, throughout my whole life, that I could try and do about anything because my dad (and my mom, too) always had my back. Even going into the unknown, because I knew that my parents would be there to support me. That is something that I want to bring to my children. That level of comfort and support – knowing they can do anything and try anything, and their dad will be there to help them along the way.
What are you most looking forward to with Casimir and Thorin?
That list is so long! Very excited for them to play their first Super Mario video game, and to watch their first episode of Disney’s DuckTales. On the way home from the Hospital, we had Casimir dressed in a DuckTales onesie, the same DuckTales onesie that my wife presented me with to tell me that she was pregnant. Just to see their reactions to these things their dad likes.
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