Welcome Logan!

Logan Brad Clark

7/3/2014

7lbs 1oz &  20 inches long

I feel as if I could almost copy and paste you Tanner's birth story, because as Brad and I drove to the hospital that night, we both had deja vu from 2 1/2 years ago...

As you know I was scheduled to be induced on July 3 and to arrive at the hospital at 5:00 that morning.  At 2 am I woke up to go to the bathroom, and as I got up I remember thinking how it was around this time that I went into labor with Tanner.  I was a little sad thinking how I was indeed going to be induced.  So I went back to bed.  I had barely fallen back to sleep when I woke up a half hour later in labor.  I was in disbelief that once again on the day I was scheduled to be induced I woke up in the middle of the night in labor.  My boys have perfect timing.

My contractions where not very consistent at first so I thought soaking in the tub would help alleviate some pain, which it did, however my contractions where getting stronger and closer together so fast I knew we had to get to the hospital.  So I woke Brad up and told him the news and we then rushed to the hospital.  Since we were scheduled to come in anyway in just a few hours the hospital was all ready for me, and because I was already dilated to a 5 I was able to get the epidural and life was good again!  It is so nice to be able to relax and laugh/joke with the nurses and not be in so much pain.  We made bets on how much the baby would weigh and what time he'd be born at.  It definitely makes for a more pleasant birthing experience!

(trying to rest)

At around 7:40 my doctor came in to check on me.  I was dilated to a 7 so he broke my water.  Our nurse told Brad that now would be a good time to get some breakfast in the cafeteria and to just bring it back in the room, so he left.  Ten minutes later my nurse came back to check on me again.  I thought it was strange that she was back so soon after just checking me, but she loudly and surprisedly said, "you're at a 10!  Better hurry and call your hubby to have him come back!"  Right after she said that I felt the need to push, but hurried and called Brad and told him to come back because I was already at a 10, he seemed really surprised that it was happening so fast.  

The nurse told me obviously not to push, but to wait for Brad and the doctor to arrive.  It didn't take long before both Brad and my doctor arrived.  I then told the nurses that I could feel the baby and he was about to come out.  Just wait they told me as they scrambled to get everything ready.  I yelled "I feel his head!"  Brad laughed and said, "yep there he is!"  The nurses/doctors whipped around surprised.  I must have laughed becuase everyone screamed at me not to laugh, but just like with Tanner, Logan was coming out on his own.  I didn't even push. Brad told me the doctor only had time to put on one glove before he delivered Logan at 8:02 am.

all the nurses were surprised at how much blonde hair he had!

Proud daddy holding his little boy for the first time.

 First bath

 Best hospital food ever!  and I'm not just saying that because I was hungry.

 Later that day my mom and Aaron brought the boys to meet their new brother.  They both absolutely adore him.

Especially Carson.  He tells everyone how he is going to hug and kiss him everyday.

 me and my boys!

 our most updated family picture

We were able to bring Logan home the next day.  The 4th of July.

He's the sweetest little thing and we love him to pieces!

Eviction Notice

The baby has been givin his notice.  He has been givin until July 3rd to make his appearance.  If not then we have no other choice then to force him out.  (that sounds kindof bad, but its true).

Induction is scheduled for 5 am July 3rd.  I'm hoping that what happened with Tanner will ring true for this one too (he came on his own the night I was scheduled to go in to be induced).  My mom comes in tomorrow and it will be such a relief to have her here to help with the boys!  Just a few more days now!

End of Pregnancy Pros and Cons

The last month of pregnancy is the hardest.  At least for me.  Here is my pro/con list.

Pros:

• I can use my belly as a table:

• People are very helpful.  They open doors, let you cut in line for the bathrooms, pick things up off the floor...
• the expectant mothers parking

Cons:

• Grunting every time you have to move
• getting up and down or rotating from side to side is nearly impossible
• low energy
• lack of patience (when it comes to my kids)
• lower back pain
• the belly is always getting bumped
• Braxton hicks contractions
• Tanner has a hard time sitting on my lap when he wants to cuddle.

The cons tend to outweigh the pros.  Luckily we are now just counting down the days, not weeks!

38 Weeks

Just a couple weeks left! Had an ultrasound on Thursday.  I've never had one so late in pregnancy before, but apparently they wanted to make sure everything looks well, check on my amniotic fluid, and to make sure there are no unexpected surprises.  Right now he is currently weighing in at 6 lbs 9 oz. and looks perfectly healthy.

I'm doing really well, just exhausted.  I really can't believe I have less then two weeks left!  I know he can potentially come any minute, but I still feel like I have plenty of time left.  I was just telling Brad that when Carson came it was really a shock because I wasn't planning on him coming early.  In fact I thought I would go late, because everyone told me "you go late with your first!"  Then with Tanner I was so impatient thinking I'd go early again.  It made the days drag on and made the last few weeks seem like an eternity when he arrived on time.  This time around I feel very nonchalant, and whatever happens, happens.

Last week we pulled out all the baby clothes and got the room ready for his arrival.  Last minute I know, but we weren't in any hurry.

I did have an interesting conversation with a young, (inexperienced) salesman at the store.  Here's how it went down:

Him: So are you having twins?
me: a little shocked since no one has ever asked me that before "no just a couple weeks left"
Him: Seriously?  I don't believe it!  You look like you are having twins!  Well at least its a girl right? Please tell me your not having another boy.
me: getting slightly annoyed.  "nope, its another boy"
Him: "Oh G**! I'm SO glad I'm single!  I couldn't even imagine having kids!
Goes back to salesman mode.  Can I help you find anything?
me: death stare "no, I'm good, thanks"

This guy definitely new all the right things to say!  Don't know why he thought I'd want to give him my business after that!  Oh well.

Its just a few more days left until we get to hold our precious little one!

Baby Bump Tradition

Throughout all three of my pregnancies my sister in-law Kami has been pregnant at the same time and with all of them we've been exactly 2 months apart!  Its gotten to the point where one is pregnant it won't be long before the other makes their announcement.  Its fun having someone to share the experience with and knowing that our kids will at least have 1 cousin their same age.  

During our pregnancies we've always gotten a baby bump picture and this time was no exception!

Carson & Brooklyn                                                Tanner & Mason

 

33 Weeks

Nothing new to report baby wise just a growing belly, but he is still as active as ever!  So I thought instead I'd tell some of the funny things that Carson and Tanner have said and done.

• Carson pointed to my boobs and said "mom those are growing big!" 
• When asking how the baby is coming out of mom's tummy Carson said "its like a balloon right and goes (makes the sound of a deflating balloon as well as the hand motions).
• During the sacrament at church Carson said "the baby come out of your private, right mom?"
• When asked where the baby is Tanner has to lift up my shirt and show people my belly button, because just pointing at my belly isn't the same thing.

There have been some interesting conversations about where babies come from and how they are born at our house.  Its been very entertaining to see/hear through the eyes of a 5 and 2 1/2 year old.

Maternity

Couldn't help but to have some maternity pictures taken.  Brad did a great job!

28 Weeks

I turned 28 weeks this week.  I have officially hit my 3rd trimester and boy did it hit me like a brick wall.  My energy is completely gone by the afternoon and I am once again needing to take a nap once a day.  I also felt him hiccup for the first time yesterday.

He is so active!  This little boy knows he has two older brothers, because he has been practicing his upper cuts and kicks  in preparation.  He's gonna be a fighter!

Although the circumstances weren't ideal, I do miss having ultrasounds once a month like I did with Tanner.  It was so fun seeing him all the time and wish I could see more of this little one.  My doctors appointments are now every 2 weeks, which seems to help, and also make the time go by faster.

Time has sneaked up on me and before I know it he'll be here!

22 Weeks

A side by side comparison of all three of my boys at 22 weeks.

Another Brother!

Wow a house full of boys!  It was so wonderful to see him.  He is such an active little guy and my ultrasound tech had a hard time getting measurements because he wouldn't stay still!  He is absolutely perfect and measuring right on track.  I fell completely in love.

Carson actually took it the hardest.  He kept saying "but I thought it was a girl!" "why can't there be a girl baby be in mommy's tummy?"  I'm sure that he'll be excited to wrestle and play superheros in no time.

(The nurse said the picture turned out well and I believed her, but she totally cut Brad's head off!  Note to self always check the picture.)

We made a fun day out of today.  We went and had some yummy greek food and then went to the children's museum.

We are just so excited for this little 4th of July firecracker to arrive!

Thoughts on Gender

Wow, 9 out of 13 people on the poll thinks I'm having a girl!  For a while there it was 100% girl and I was a little surprised not even 1 person thought I was having a boy, but then BAM the last few votes were all boy.  Girl vote still wins though.

When I first got pregnant with this pregnancy, I thought I was for sure having a girl.  I was so excited, because after 2 boys it would be fun to add some pink to the family.  Then around Christmas time I was starting to go crazy thinking about it and the thought came to me that it was another boy.

Now for the past couple of weeks I keep going back and forth on whether it is a boy or girl.

Boy: boys run in the family.  Have I mentioned that I was the first girl  born into the Murphy family in 185 years?  In both Brad and my families we tend to come in groups of three.  The Clarks have 3 boys and in mine its 3 girls and 3 boys.  I might just be meant to carry on the tradition.  Plus I know boys, he'd totally fit right in.

Girl: I don't know if its just a desire to dress up a little girl or what, but I still keep coming back to the thought of how fun a girl would be.  It would totally change the dynamic of our family, and thats kind of exciting. Even though this pregnancy has been very similar from the boys there have been some slight differences that fit with the old wives tell of having a girl.  My face feels like a teenager again and has broken out and I tear up easily.  I cried in the Lego movie.  Yes, I'm a little sensitive especially when those P&G commercials come on during the Olympics.  Gets me everytime.  I also have the Chinese Gender Calendar saying its a girl so that has to be right, right?

These are just my thoughts and ramblings.  Nothings official until its official right?  I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Poll Time

Not a lot is going on in the Clark household right now, which is why a lot of my past few posts have been about the baby.  It seems that is the only thing new going on here.

My ultrasound isn't scheduled until February 19th!  Ugh. Forever away!  I'll almost be 21 weeks by that time, but I turn 20 weeks on the 14th (Valentines Day) and my doctors office kindof refuses to see me before 20 weeks.  The 14th lands on a Friday and the ultrasound is only available Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  So just with scheduling and everything I get to wait till first thing Wednesday (the 19th) morning.

So as per tradition I'm putting up the baby gender poll for you to guess boy or girl.

17 Weeks

Brad felt the baby last night!  Never has he felt the baby so early in my pregnancies, its usually after 20 weeks.  However last night as we were lying in bed I felt my stomach harden and took Brads hand to have him feel it.  "this is where the baby is" I told him, and right then we felt little pops, one right after another.  It felt like popcorn was popping in my belly.  I was so surprised.  I rarely even feel the baby and even when I do its still only flutters.  So to feel it so hard and distinctly caught me off guard, and to have Brad feel it too was just a special moment.  I'm sure the baby did this just for Brad.  I must have another daddy's favorite in there.

15 weeks & 4 days

Felt the baby move for the first time tonight!  I have felt what I thought might be little flutters before, but never was positive it was the baby.  Then tonight Tanner pushed on my stomach and I felt an undeniable jump from the baby.  I love that feeling!

14 Weeks

I'm 14 weeks and due the 4th of July!  What a fun time of year!  Although I've never actually delivered on my due date before, the 4th of July would be a fun day to have your birthday on!

Out of all 4 of my pregnancies this has been the easiest 1st trimester (ironically my miscarriage was the sickest I got).  It seems with each pregnancy morning sickness gets better and better.  They doctor joked that my body just knows how to handle pregnancy better.  Don't get me wrong I still had morning sickness, just not so bad.  Or maybe it just didn't seem so bad, because it didn't last as long.  With my other pregnancies 6 weeks on the dot I started getting sick, and this time around it wasn't until 9 weeks that I started getting sick then it all ends around 12-13 weeks.

This was also the first time we've been able to tell family in person that we are expecting.  Brad was able to deliver the news to his family around the Thanksgiving table.

Carson is excited for a new sibling.  Before I got pregnant he would always tell us he wanted a baby sister named Lucy (after the Singletons little girl), but ever since we told him about a new baby coming he keeps saying he wants another brother named Batman.  Tanner on the other hand, has absolutely no clue whats going on.

I love looking back on my blog and seeing my past pregnancy posts of both Carson and Tanner.  One reason I love having my blog.  Its so great to remember what its like, because pregnancy is one of those things you easily forget about once the baby arrives.  For example, I forgot about how scared I got when we received news of different complications with Tanner, or even the shock of looking at pictures and seeing just how big I got.

We are looking forward to our newest arrival, though we are still somewhat in denial that we will now have 3 children and will officially be outnumbered.

2013 Top Ten

1. Brad got a new job with Conocco Phillips

2. Emily met one of her childhood TV icons

3. Carson learned how to spell his name

4. Tanner turned into a dare devil at the pool

5. Moved to Katy, TX

6. Sold/Bought new home

7.  Loved exploring our new home state of Texas

8.  Brad and Emily ran a 5k together

9. Loved going to the beach

10.  Found out baby #3 will be joining our family around the 4th of July

What a year its been!  Filled with lots of big changes, and 2014 looks like it will bring even more exciting adventures for our family.  Who would have thought this time last year that we'd be moving to Texas of all places!  Its crazy how so much can happen in a year, and I can already tell 2014 is going to be a great!