Conference Weekend!

What are we doing this weekend?

Watching General Conference.

We are so grateful and excited to hear our Prophet and Apostles speak and find ways we can improve ourselves, become better parents, and better members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Thank you http://www.lds.org/ for letting us stream General Conference live.

One Year Ago

One year ago today we learned our world was going to be flipped upside down (and inside out).

We found out we were expecting twins. 

I was 11 weeks along and having my first ultrasound when my OB quickly found our two little ones.

We were shocked and thrilled and instantly could not imagine our life without two babies.

Remember how we told my family? Flashback here

Things I Love: Six Months

Stats

Ian

Weight: 18lbs 3oz (60th %)

Length: 27.3 in (76th %) 

Head Circ: 41.9 cm (8th %)

Brigham

Weight: 16lbs 3oz (24th %)

Length: 27.3 in (76th %)

Head Cir: 41.9cm (8th %)

IAN

We've started referring to Ian as our Marshmallow Baby. He just melts into your arms.

Hard to believe he was a 4 lb 15 oz peanut six short months ago!

This kid LOVES his food. 

There have been a couple of times that he's downed 8 oz of milk and still cries when the bottle is done. I've still been nursing them and he's only had breastmilk mingled with a formula bottle once or twice a day up to this point. I must produce cream.

We just tried rice cereal for the first time on Oct. 3, 2013 (Post to come)

Ian still loves his tongue and has taken up spitting.

He likes to snuggle and flirt with any cute girl he makes eye contact with.

He likes to play with mama's hair and for the most part is pretty gentle just letting it run through his fingers.

Ian has the funniest little personality. He laughs easily and finds things funny that I don't know if all babies would.

He laughs when Jesse makes faces at him.

He laughs when I squeezed BBQ sauce into a bowl and it made a funny noise.

And he laughed when he tooted while I was changing his diaper which scared the pants off me first, and then cracked me up! We both laughed for about a minute.

Ian loves being on his tummy and usually alternates between pushing up high on his hands and then laying back on his belly and kicking his legs really hard.

He also usually sleeps on his side or tummy.

We give him a light blanket and a binky if he'll take it and put him to bed awake and he falls asleep usually without much of a fuss. He loves sucking on his hands through his blanket.

Ian can push up on his hands and knees and rock back and forth as well as push himself backwards.

He has started holding his bottle although he's not completely consistent. He likes to hold it by wrapping his hands around it on the top and supporting the bottom on his chest.

He thinks it's hilarious to be under the nursing cover. He usually doesn't even try to eat, he just lays there until I look at him and then he giggles. And then he'll look around at the design of the cover and giggle more. 

He loves bath time. He has started stealing my washcloth so I've started giving him his own to play with. 

He is getting better at sitting up on his own although it's still not a reliable way to leave him without supervision or padding.

Ian has some dry patches of skin, mostly on his legs but all it takes is a little extra lotioning and he's back to baby soft.

He is a mover. Not quite as much as Briggs (because let's be honest, he can't move that chubby body quite as easily), but he especially likes rolling at inconvenient times, such as while I'm changing his diaper. 

If I would have been smart I would have been taking pictures on this rug every month to compare their size. But I'm not. So oh well.

BRIGHAM

Our sweet Briggsy Boy is turning into Mr. Personality.

He is very expressive, especially in his eyebrows. You know exactly what he is thinking based on his face. 

(I think he gets that from his mama)

He still sucks in his bottom lip all the time. 

(Which apparently he gets from his mama as well.)

Jesse busted up laughing one night while we were watching tv and I quickly discovered it was because I was intently watching our show with my bottom lip sucked in!

He is the quietest little thing in his crib. There have been numerous times that I assume he is asleep because I haven't heard a peep in a long time and low and behold he's just laying awake in his crib silent as the night.

His dimple gets deeper by the day.

Briggs doesn't have the love affair with food that Ian has. In fact he often gets distracted easily while he's eating so now I have to keep distractions as minimal as possible while I feed him.

He also likes to play with mama's hair but is not as gentle. He tends to grab and pull instead of just play.

He can move anywhere he wants to. He can pivot on his belly, roll, rock on his hands and knees, and push off his toes so high that he tips himself over onto his back.

Briggs started on that blue rug in his room and rolled his way to the front room.

He loves his toes and has learned that he is flexible enough to get them in his mouth.

Briggs also loves his bath. He really loves when I pour water on him with this blue cup. He kicks like crazy and reaches out to touch the water when I start pouring!

Briggs loves the jumper. He enjoys the toys and jumping in this.

Ian does more playing with toys and holding his legs up instead of actual jumping.

He loves mirrors and will talk and squeal to himself in them.

Briggs loves music and stories and he lights up every time I start singing and reading.

He also loves toys that sing and light up. 

He likes to snuggle and will rest his head on my shoulder. I love snuggling with him.

When he lays on his back he kicks his left leg, just because.

He likes to have things in his hands and when he gets something in his right hand (links, burp cloth, hat, anything) he swings his arm up and down above his head and down by his side. 

{B}                   {I}

They are in size 3 diapers and still wear a wide variety of clothes.

These two are good friends.

Although I'm already breaking up "fights."

Briggs has a tendency to pull things that get close to him (such as Ian's hair or ears) so I find myself telling them to be soft to one another.

Luckily someone has only ended up crying a couple of times.

These boys crack me up. I laugh every single day while I am with them. And these boys love their mama. They talk to me, give me kisses, and loves. They like their daddy too, don't get me wrong, they just have different relationships with each of us. They are sweet to me, love to dance, and laugh at things I do. Jesse throws them in the air, makes funny faces, and rough houses with them. It is so much fun.

And now for a flash back because I've been a little emotional this week about them turning 6 months!

Little Peanut Briggs

Now Chubby Briggs

Bread Turtle Briggs

(And this was after his hospital stay, so he was at least 6 weeks old in this picture)

Now Giant Turtle, Little Shell.

 They barely took up any space in this crib.

And now they take up most of the crib!

Brand-spanking new from the hospital.

And shoot-dang they fill out those cradles now!

Hard to remember the day when Ian had wrinkles... 

instead of rolls.

Where have my tiny babies gone?! 

Luckily these boys have my heart and I will love them forever!

Sometimes when you wake up...

You can't find your arm.

Somehow you pulled it up in your pajamas and got your hand stuck where your shoulder should be.
I don't know how you did it but it sure cracked me up!

Surviving Twins: A (Not-So) Short Guide

Husbaughts in Red

1. Congratulations on having twins. You are now an instant celebrity. You will be stopped everywhere you go and people will tell you any twin story they have. They will tell you about how they wish they had twins, their sister has twins, how their best friends growing up were twins, or how their neighbor down the street has twins. You just nod your head and smile. They don't realize you don't have time to talk or that it is a huge deal you're even out of the house, but that's ok. Pinch a kid till he cries and you instantly have a convenient way out of that non-versation. There's little chance these people will have some earth-shattering insights to turn your life around, so don't feel obligated to listen to them talk for long. The people you do care to talk to are the ones who actually have twins and know you don't have much time to talk. They are the ones who just slow down their walk, tell you how cute your babies are, and how old their twins are and keep moving. You also have several people stop and tell you they have triplets. Holy cow. You want to bow down at their feet and praise them for being super parents. The best thing these people can tell you is "We survived." This can buoy your spirits and carry you through the rougher spots. It also never hurts to hear people think your kids are cute.

2. Lower your expectations to 0. It's now normal for your house to look something like this. Seriously.

I know there are people out there who can have twins, triplets, or octuplets and still keep their house tidy. These people are called cyborgs and they must be hunted down for the safety of all humanity. Plus they make the rest of us look bad. 

3. You will be doing at least a load of laundry every day to keep up with the massive mess of puke stained clothes and burp cloths. STOP SEPARATING THE WHITES AND COLORS. Seriously, when it comes to kids' stuff, just don't bother. Use cold water on everything, lump it all in, and get the job done. You'll save your sanity as well as a few bucks off your utility bill.

4. And when you get sick of doing a load a day, go buy a couple dozen more burp cloths and start doing laundry only every other day. Also be sure to set aside time to do your own laundry every week. Your instincts will tell you "I just did a load, so I should have shirts/shorts/socks/underwear for tomorrow." Don't listen. Set a day and push all your adult laundry (meaning grown-up laundry, not Adult laundry; you're probably not using that much these days anyway) through on that day. Also, take into account that you can do a lot of baby laundry all at once, but because of its diminutive size it will take you till three weeks after you're dead to get it all folded. Plan accordingly.

5. Find ways to teach your babies from the day they are born to lay on the floor and entertain themselves. Explain to them several times a day that there are two babies and only one mama.

Books and toys are awesome distractions. Lay down a kid for tummy time with a book and a couple of stuffed animals to look at. When they start getting fussy, swap it out for something new. The longer they're on the ground the more comfortable they feel there, so keep them entertaining themselves as long as possible.

6. Have several meals in your cupboard that takes less than 3 minutes to heat up. That is literally the amount of time you have to eat every meal for the foreseeable future. No joke. Hot Pockets FTW.

7. Speaking of food, your crockpot (aka Slow Cooker) is your new best friend. But feel free not to get acquainted for at least three months after the arrival of your babies.

8. Attempt to get out of the house at least once a week for a change of scenery. Your first day may go something like this:

Pack the diaper bag and get everything ready to go.
Change both babies into clothes.
Feed the babies simultaneously.
Burp one baby.
Second baby pukes all over himself.
First baby pukes all over you.
Change second baby's clothes.
Change your clothes.
Put babies into carseats.
Catch puke again that comes exploding out of each of them. We call these "Protest Pukes."
Decide it's not worth it to change them again and just take them wet.
Run the stroller down to the car.
Scoop both carseats up and put them outside.
Shut your foot in the door as you lock up. (Optional)
Finally get in the car and go to Target. (Or the national bargain chain of your choosing)
While at Target picking up the 3 things you came to get, both babies will attract all sorts of attention which slows you up and makes them scream.
It will be awesome.

And it will get better. I promise.

9. Go back to work one day a week despite the stress it causes leading up to that one day. Remind yourself that it's good for everyone. This mama gets to use her brain/essentially do the same thing I do at home, but to big people and these sweet boys get their daddy's undivided attention for a full day. I've seriously had some of my favorite experiences on these days where it's just me and the boys. Don't forget to take pictures. Mamma usually works the camera 'round here, but just buckle down and snap a picture or two.

10. Have a singing star. Nothing entertains quite like it does. Except Daddy. Daddy's the best.

11. Learn how to nurse a baby standing up. You very well may be walking all over the house with one baby attached so you can take care of the other baby. I have no experience in this area.

12. Always have your camera ready and take as many pictures as you can because your sleep deprived self will not remember the first few months of their lives. No joke. Take pictures AND video of everyday things. It might seem like a waste at the time, but even though our boys are only 6 months old we already look back at the videos of them as newborns and reminisce. 

13. Learn how to multi-task.

14. Don't bother doing up the clasps on your nursing bra, feeding times come all too quickly to bother with that.

15. Just go ahead and move into the nursery with your babies so you can sleep walk your way over and help them in the night. Danielle's sleepy self tends to auto-magically take care of almost all the late-night baby situations. I tell her in the morning she can always wake me up and get me to help, but her instincts are so strong she rarely has the presence of mind to take me up on my offer. NOT THAT I'M COMPLAINING.

16. If you absolutely have to go shopping by yourself with the babies, you can only get 3-5 small items because that is all the room you have in your cart.

17. Have your husband cook you breakfast every morning. You very well may turn into Gaston from Beauty and the Beast and be able to eat 5 dozen eggs. This leads me to point #17.5...

17.5 If you want your husband to do something, tell him. Now is not the time to play the "He should know what I'm thinking" game. From all husbands everywhere, this is our solemn plea: "Either do it yourself or tell us about it. Don't expect us to know anything." Husbands don't cope mentally as well as wives do. Those shoes you keep tripping over don't even register on our radar. The fact that neither of us has eaten in 14 hours somehow doesn't trigger the thought "Maybe I can make food!" If you want it, ask us.

18. Don't listen to people who tell you to sleep when the baby sleeps. That's rubbish. When you have two, and specifically when you are nursing two, you EAT when your babies sleep. Sometimes that's the only time you have and you need to eat SO MUCH FOOD. Husbands, this only applies to you to the extent of making sure your wife is fed. You come second every time. I've never nursed a baby and I don't think I ever will, but I imagine it's like having a leech drain a half pint of blood out of you 4-10 times a day. With that perspective, husbands, step up and learn to fix food your wife likes. No, ordering pizza won't win you husband points.

19. Keep a sense of humor. Catch up with your spouse when you are both up with a baby at 3 in the morning instead of grumbling to one another. Laugh instead of cry over the freshly pumped breastmilk you spill all over the kitchen floor. Watch some Bill Cosby as you scrub the never ending mountain of pump parts and bottles. Sometimes laughing is the only thing that keeps you from crying. Self deprecation is the name of the game. Your pride has no place in a house with twins. If you screw up, point it out to her and laugh about it. If she screws up, mention the last time you screwed up worse and laugh about it. It won't be very long before you screw up again and need a little forgiveness from her, so don't ever let pride stand in the way of being happy.

20. And most importantly, stand over your babies and watch them sleep for a few minutes every single night. Kiss your spouse and thank the Lord for sending you these two perfect little babies and remember how amazing the whole thing is. Seeing them sleep will melt away any rough times you had during the day and rejuvenate you for the day ahead. Our boys had a few challenges with their NICU stay, Briggs' 20-day hospitalization, and a minor surgery for both of them, but we look at them and know they're perfect. No matter what goes wrong there are people worse off and you should feel blessed. We certainly do.

Final thoughts: Parenthood is awesome. Danielle and I get more joy out of seeing our boys' personalities develop than we've ever experienced before. We feel closer as a couple, and we feel Christ's love through them. I believe it has also given us an insight into how Heavenly Father can love us so much despite all the ways we screw up. I've been peed, pooped, and puked on more times than you can imagine, but I love these boys more every day, and Danielle and I grow closer every day.

****Update: We have now written an updated surviving twins post about how life is one year later. You can see the newest post here.****