One month old

Benjamin and Miles

The boys are such wonderful babies! Here are some things we have noticed about them during these first few weeks:
-Miles Loves to snuggle. Whenever we burp him, he snuggles right into the crease of our necks and loves every minute of it.
-Benjamin really can't stand being burped on our shoulders. Unlike his brother, he will take his little head and ram it into our shoulders until we move him.
-We often find them sleeping in the EXACT same position.
-If one wakes up the other from a nap, he will mimic the cries of the first to wake up. It is pretty cute actually.
-They love sleeping with mom.
-Both boys are notorious for peeing as soon as the diaper comes off.
-They are still on the same schedule (thank heavens!) and wake up only a few times during the night.
-Benjamin whimpers when he is sad, hungry, or eating.
-They like to throw up as soon as we are all dressed and ready for bed. I say "we" because they are known to throw up all over themselves and whatever is holding them at the time.
-They are learning the difference between an actual bottle and their binkies.
-Miles is quite stubborn when it comes to falling asleep.
-Milo doesn't quite know what to think of baths, Benji really can't stand them.
-Both boys can't stand getting lotioned down after their baths.
-Neither of them like being swaddled because they love their hands right next to their faces.

These first few weeks have been pure bliss and such an adventure. The sleepless nights and loud crying make all of the sweet moments even sweeter! We love our boys and can't wait for the weeks to come, if only we could get the days to slow down a bit!

To sleep or not to sleep...

Josh and I got told a lot of different advice as we were preparing for the babies. Most of that advice we took and threw out the window, but there is one thing we got told over and over again that we (mostly me) have taken to heart; sleep when the baby sleeps. I get pretty tired after long nights and I can't help but take a few naps here and there. Josh has been so lucky to catch a few of these moments on camera. The house may be a little messy, but hey, I think Josh would rather have a happy, well rested wife and kids than a vacuumed floor and dusted shelves...at least for the time being.

Visitors and Graduation

Benji and Milo, one week old.

The week the babies were born was quite a busy week. We came home from the hospital on Sunday, the 10th, Easter Sunday. Mom left for home on Monday, Josh finished up his finals on Tuesday and Wednesday, and family came into town on Thursday. My cousin, Jake got married in Salt Lake Thursday morning and my whole family was in town for the event and Josh's graduation was on Friday, so that brought his mom and Ty into town as well! So we spent Thursday evening with Jamie and Ty, then woke up bright and early to get Josh ready for graduation. It wasn't until about 15 minutes before he was supposed to be

Uncle Tyler

there that he decided he would rather stay home with me and the boys and visit with family. Have I mentioned how sweet of a man I married?! Jamie and Ty came to the apartment and I got myself ready for our first family photos! It was right when I finished getting ready that my dad and Tyler got to the apartment for a quick visit. It was Tyler's first time meeting the boys and he was so excited to hold them! With all of the extra hands available, we bundled up the boys and headed out to the backyard for some photos. Ryan and Janelle took turns visiting and the Leonardsons came down for a quick visit in the afternoon. It was so much fun to have family in Provo!

Uncle Ryan

Jake, Trevor and Savannah were unable to come down to meet the boys because of work and the school play they were in, "Man of la Mancha". So on Saturday morning, Josh and I made a very spur of the moment decision to head up to Idaho and surprise them with the boys in tow. We called the pediatrician to make sure it was an okay thing to do, double checked with Jamie and the family, quickly packed up what we needed for an overnight stay, fed the boys, loaded up the car and headed to Idaho! Josh was a few minutes late for the play, but was well rewarded after the play when he saw the complete look of surprise on the boys' faces! When Jake saw Josh there his jaw dropped and he screamed, "Where are my nephews?!" He was very excited to meet Benji and Milo. We only got a few hours of visiting in, but those hours were well worth the effort! Our sweet boys are so Loved!

8 stitches later...

On Thursday afternoon, Josh and I were just lounging around, relaxing in between feedings. Josh was sitting on the floor working on the computer and I was sitting on the couch holding Benjamin and talking to my sister on the phone. After a few minutes, Josh whispered to me, "I am going to go caulk the tub, okay?" I nodded and continued on with my conversation. I watched Josh stand up, take a few steps, reach for the couch, then fall to the floor. My heart dropped. It was probably an overreaction, but I was scared! I threw my phone down, ran over to him, set Benji down and knelt down to my husband face down on the tile in a puddle of his blood. I was freaking out! It took a few seconds, but he finally lifted his head up, felt the blood dripping from his head, and asked for a paper towel. When he turned his head, I saw a two inch gash right above his left eyebrow! He had stood up too fast, passed out, and landed right on our tile floor. OUCH!
I got him some paper towels to hold on his head, we cleaned up the blood and he went to lay down on the couch. After a phone call to his dad, we decided it was best to take him in to get stitches. Ty left class and drove over to take him to the BYU health center and I stayed home to feed the boys. About an hour later, Josh walked through the door with 8 stitches in his head! We think It is going to leave a pretty awesome scar. Only real men can land head first on tile and walk away from it.

Life as we know it

Life has changed quite a bit for us now that the boys are here. We get up a few times during the night and run on much less sleep than we used to. We only have a few hours in between each feeding, and we are lucky if we both get a shower in for the day. We have been pooped and peed on more than once, and do more laundry than ever before. But the hardest part about being a parent is finding the willpower to put them down every once and a while! We knew that lack of sleep came with the territory, but we had no idea how much love we could have for Benjamin and Miles! Yes, things are much different than what they used to be, but hey, we will take a little less sleep if it means more time with our two precious boys. We can't get enough!

April 18, 2014

Headed to the hospital!

At 11:00 on April 17th, Josh and I laid in bed, trying to go to sleep. I looked over at Josh and said, "Joshy, you need to get some sleep too, okay?"
He responded with an, "Okay, we will see what happens."
I smiled and asked, "Joshy, are you nervous too?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
Another smile. I married such a sweet man. "Babe, are you excited to meet your boys?"
With a tired, but proud smile he said, "Yeah, we are going to be buds."
I fell asleep feeling excited, nervous, and a little scared, but I couldn't help but feel so blessed!

All checked in and ready to go! 

At 5:00 in the morning, I called Timpanogos Hospital to ask if my scheduled induction was on time. They ended up pushing us back from 6:00 to 7:30 and told us to get a little extra sleep. Really? They expected us to sleep when in just a few short hours, our family would be doubling in size? Josh ended up getting a few extra minutes of sleep while I laid there with my eyes wide open, SO excited for the day's events.

We pulled into the hospital parking lot at 7:30, unloaded the car, and got checked in. By 8:00, they started the Pitocin, and we were on our way! Here is a list of how the day played out:

8:00-I.V. and Pitocin

Feeling good after an epidural. 

8:45-Dad walked in. 

9:00-Mango flavored ice chips

10:00-Blueberry flavored ice chips

10:30-Marc and Jamie showed up

11:00-Mom walked in

12:30-Dilated to a 4

1:00-Josh got some In N' Out, but ate it out in the hallway. Thanks Joshy!
1:10-Raspberry flavored ice chips

4:00-I hit the maximum dosage of Pitocin (20 drops per hour), contractions hurting A LOT

4:50-Dilated to a 5

5:00-Received the epidural, got poked a little bit, cried a little bit.

5:20-feeling good. :)

6:15-Dr. Allen broke my water and told Ashlee (our nurse) to let him know when I was an 8

7:45-Ashlee called Dr. Allen. I was dilated to an 8\9!

7:46-I started freaking out a little bit!

8:00-Dr. Allen checked my cervix and found I was dilated to a 10, +2. I was ready to go!

8:02-Josh called our parents while I freaked out a little bit more.

8:05-Josh got dressed in clothes ready for the Operating Room

8:10-They wheeled me back to the O.R.

8:15-I started to push.

8:35-They laid "Baby A" on my chest. He was perfect.

8:37-I started to push.

8:45-"Baby B" was laid on my chest, just as perfect as his older brother.

Just a few minutes away from being parents! 

9:10-I got wheeled back into the room, exhausted, but as happy as could be.
9:15-Ashlee brought me some much needed food.
9:16-We decided on names, Baby "A"-Benjamin Elend Murphy, Baby "B"-
Miles Raoden Murphy.
9:45-Family got kicked out
10:00-Babies got their first bath
10:15-I got a quick run down on breast feeding, a little too quick in my opinion!
10:40-Finished feeding the boys.
11:00-Jamie walked in with two large hamburgers, large french fries and two Frosties from Wendy's. mmmm!
11:05-Nurses took out my I.V.
11:15-We got wheeled into our room.
11:30-We met our night nurse, Rachelle and she took my vitals.
11:45-Benji and Milo got wheeled in.
12:00-We finally had the room to ourselves.
12:30-We finished eating and fed the boys.

12:45-Got the boys to sleep.
1:00-Rachelle came to check my vitals.
1:30-Nurses came to get the boys.
2:00-The boys got wheeled back into the room, Rachelle checked my vitals.
2:15-The boys were hungry again..
2:30-Josh and I finally tried to get some sleep.

With nurses coming and go

Miles and Benjamin

ing and babies eating, we didn't get much sleep that first night, but we were on cloud nine. We were so happy to have our
boys here, happy and healthy! Mom and Dad Murphy left for home on Saturday afternoon just after my dad. Mom offered to stay through Monday to help with the first night and run any errands we needed. We had a short hospital stay and checked out at 1:00 on Sunday afternoon.


We walked into our apartment to the smell of a roast in the oven. Comfort food right after a hospital stay was much needed. Thanks Mom :) She cooked for us, cleaned for us, and went grocery shopping twice for us. It was so nice having her here!

The days kind of run together, and go by quickly, but we LOVE having our boys home. It is so much fun getting to know them and their big personalities. We often find ourselves just watching them, amazed at the tiny little miracles we have been blessed with. We know they were just in heaven and because of them, our home is a little piece of heaven on earth! We love our precious little boys!

Ready to go home! 

Such proud grandparents!