back to school!

Karter's first day of school!

Grade: Kindergarten
Teacher: Tipton

Gavin's first day of school:

Grade:  Preschool (PM class)

Teacher: Ms Woods

38 weeks pregnant.... or...not :)

Today I would have been 38 weeks pregnant with Luke and Max, today we would have been going in to the hospital for my scheduled c-section.  I am so grateful that I have been able to spend that last 2 weeks snuggling my baby boys on the outside.  They are doing so well and we are really enjoying our time together.

There are a few things I have learned about having twins I thought I would share, mostly because I know I am VERY tired these days, and it will be nearly impossible to remember these days in the years to come.

• Twins go through a LOT of diapers.  We dont even bat an eye over opening a package of 20 diapers every day.  Lots and lots of diapers.
• Nursing twins is possible, but definately harder than a single baby.  Finding the right schedule is so important to make sure I am pumping enough, nursing enough, making sure they are nursing enough, and getting enough of my pumped milk.
• Schedules, calendars, white boards, are necessities.
• People say the stupidest stuff when you are out with both babies
• I never thought I would be HAPPY to DRIVE to the GROCERY STORE!
• When you have twins "sleeping" becomes "napping."  Your days, and your nights are just a series of naps, no long stretches (anything over 4-5 hours) of sleep.
• Your relationship with your husband feels like it could qualify for any of the following reality game shows on tv..Amazing Race, Survivor, or Wipe Out :)

Luke (on left) Max(right) 1 week old

Luke 1 week old

Max, 1 week old

Our first week home :)

Our first week home has been busy! Scott and I are working hard to remember the days of newborns. We had 2 dr appts this week (one saturday and one monday) for growth checks for the babies. The peditrician was a little worried about Max having lost a little more weight in the hospital then normal, but he was having a little hard time getting latched onto a bottle. The lactation consultant said this was mostly because they were pre-term.

The rest of this week has been spent just getting to know each other. The older boys have been having a hard time listening and following directions. I think this is mostly because of the distraction of the babies, combined with not having Scott and I home. Things are really starting to turn around by the end of this week.

Max and Luke are doing a great job sleeping. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night they slept from 10:30pm-2:30am and then again from 3am-6am. During the day it is so much fun to see how much more awake they are.

We have had a few visitors this last week. My grandma and aunt Judy came yesterday, our friends Mandy and Chase brought us tacos and stayed for dinner and my mom's friend Dorothy stopped by to meet Luke and Max.

Scott is slowly working back to working a full week at work. He has been taking off early to take Karter to soccer. Speaking of soccer, that was our first outing as a family of 6 on Tuesday. We borrowed my sister's car since we still do not have a vehicle big enough to hold all of us (can you keep praying for that please??) We took Karter to his first soccer practice and then stopped by to see Scott's grandma so she could meet the twins and then we stopped at Weigh to Grow- the lactation program at our hospital. The lactation consultant has twins of her own so she was VERY helpful with my questions.

My mom has been AMAZING! She has been coming over everyday at lunchtime, making us lunch and helping to be another set of eyes while I catch some sleep. Its so nice to have her here to help.

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Brandon(with Luke), Carolyn(with Max), Gavin and Karter



Our family photo shoot (pre-babies)

they are here!!!

they are here!
"Luigi" Lucas Dannen Smead was born today at 1:08pm at 5lbs 3oz
"Mario" Max Hoffert Smead was born today at 1:09pm at 6lbs 7oz