One Month!

Our Dean is one month old today! Here are a few things about him.

• He sleeps a lot!
• He usually wakes up twice a night (sometimes three times...) but then goes right back to sleep after I feed him. Good boy. :)
• He likes being swaddled. He sleeps that way at night but we leave him free during the day.
• He stays asleep when we put him down!
• We can leave him for awhile without paying attention to him and he stays happy. He usually only gets mad when he's hungry.
• He's already been stepped on (by accident) and knelt on (not so much an accident...) by his big brother. He's also had toys stacked on him a few times, too. Don't worry, they were soft and/or light toys and Mom removed them quickly.
• He is just SO chill.
• He's starting to like his swing (when Brennen isn't trying to push it faster for him).
• He likes baths but doesn't like being dried off.
• The only thing he really doesn't like is tummy time.
• He's such a good eater! He'll usually eat quickly (it takes me about 20 minutes total) every 2-4 hours. We do supplement him a little but so far not more than 2 ounces a day. He's getting to be a little chunk and I bet he weighs like 9 pounds already (he was 7 lbs 12 oz almost three weeks ago).
• Brennen really loves him and so do we!

I just can't imagine life without him! I remember being upset the night before he was born because I felt like I was losing my little baby (Brennen). And that first week I felt guilty when I couldn't give Brennen the attention he was used to or when he'd cry for me and I couldn't be there for him right away. But we fell into a routine really quickly and I feel so much love for both of these little boys and I hardly remember what life was like a month ago. Even though some days are hard I LOVE being a mother! It is the greatest blessing that my Heavenly Father has given me. I haven't felt any depression this time around and it's wonderful! I just feel happy and most of the time I feel like I know what I'm doing. :)
Now for a few pictures of the boys.
Mom and Dean.

 Handsome Brennen.

 Dean is this chill and calm almost all the time! And check out how long Brennen's eyelashes are.

 Brennen sharing his puzzles...

 Cute, sleeping baby.

 Brotherly love. <3

 More sleeping. His Grandma Hope made the beautiful afghan on top of him.

 A hint of a smile. :)

Easter and a Dean update

We had a wonderful Easter this year. On Friday night we went to Grandma and Grandpa's to dye eggs and Brennen loved it! He became just as colored as the eggs but he didn't seem to mind and was really into it. He says and does so many funny things. We just love him!

Easter Sunday was stake conference so we went to that and it was Dean's first time going to church. He had a cute outfit but it was a tad too big for him... He and Brennen looked pretty cute before church, though.

We did a little egg hunt just here at home with Brennen. I kind of wish we would have done more outside somewhere but it was still fun to watch him find his eggs. He also learned a new word... "candy!" As for Dean, his first Easter was pretty uneventful. He slept a lot and behaved very well as he usually does.

Matt and I have decided that there is no Easter Bunny in our house but that our kids can still find eggs, they'll just know we were the ones who hid them. I had the Easter Bunny growing up and I enjoyed getting small gifts but we just decided we really want to focus on the Savior in our family. I've always loved Easter but now as an adult I can really appreciate what it really means and I'm thankful that I had the day to reflect on the Savior and it was fun to try to explain to Brennen what Easter really means.
I took Dean to the doctor yesterday for his two week check-up! As I was sitting in the room waiting for the doctor, watching Brennen play and holding an awake and very content Dean, it hit me that I am a mother of two! How the devil did that happen?! ha ha! But the doctor was very impressed with Dean's calm nature and he didn't even flinch until they did the heal poke. Here are the stats:
Weight: 7 lbs 12 oz!
Length: 20 1/4 inches (we suspect that whoever measured him at birth at the hospital measured him too short... 18 1/2 seems a little low...)
Head: 36.4 cm
Just for a little comparrison, at the same age Brennen was 7 lbs 3 oz (he was born 7 lbs 5 oz), 21 1/4 inches, and 36.4 cm for his head! So the same as Dean but I swear Brennen's head was bigger... guess not. :)
Here's Dean in his carseat. His hand position cracks me up. :)

And this is just one of our little family of four on Easter Sunday.

Baby Dean!

Dean Tanner Clark was born on Tuesday March 27, 2012 at 12:01 PM! He weighed in at 6 pounds 15 ounces and was 18 1/2 inches long.
Like with Brennen, the doctors thought that the baby wasn't growing. I measured 36 weeks several weeks in a row and in both growth ultrasounds, two weeks apart, the baby measured exactly the same. So on Monday the 26th Dr. Bragg scheduled me for an induction for 5:30 AM on Tuesday the 27th with Dr. Klingler.
They gave me pitocin at about 6:45 AM and Dr. Klingler broke my water at about 8:30. The contractions instantly got WAY more intense. Matt and I walked the halls for awhile but then I couldn’t handle it anymore and asked for IV drugs at about 10:45. They helped…. for the first few contractions. Then they got way intense again and I honestly feel like they were a lot more powerful than they were with Brennen. They checked my cervix at 11 and I was at a 7 but I still asked for the epidural. The epidural kicked in at about 11:30 and Dean was born at noon!
I was SO bummed that I got the epidural because I didn’t with Brennen and his labor was twice as long. Plus I would have only had to endure another half hour but I thought it would be as long as it was with Brennen so I got it. It was SO AWESOME to get that pain relief but I kind of felt like a failure that I got it.
Dean is a very happy, content little baby. He is basically the opposite of his big brother ha ha! I felt overwhelmed and depressed after I had Brennen but right now I just feel really blissfully happy (even though I only get a few hours of sleep every night). :)
Brennen loves his little brother and calls him “Baby Dean.” He also narrates everything he’s doing. “Baby Dean crying. Baby Dean sleeping. Baby Dean eating.” It’s cute. And today I took both kids to the store by myself for the first time and I planned on taking two trips out to the car because Brennen isn’t very good at going down the stairs but when I went to leave without the baby Brennen started crying out, “Baby Dean! Bring Baby Dean!”
Here are some pictures!