now for the story

Going in for a scheduled c-section is a lot different, mentally, than going in contracting, in pain, thinking "get this baby (ies) out! I don't care how you do it, or what you give me, I'm hurting." So going in feeling great, rested and fully aware mentally of what was going on, had me a little nervous. It all went great though and all the drs. and nurses were very sweet and helpful with all my medication questions. If you know me, I asked a lot :) Both my parents and Phillip's parents were there with us before hand, and after a quick prayer I was wheeled back to the O.R. I had a spinal block, which I would highly recommend for anyone having a scheduled c-section, with low grades of "other" drugs. It took a while for me to get numb, and they kept poking me and asking if I felt certain things, which I most always did. So they had to tilt the table backwards so it would move faster through my body. Finally I heard them say, "just try it." Before I knew it they were telling me they could see my uterus and that it was SO thin. My dr. said if I had gone into labor, it would have instantly been hard labor because I was almost 5cm dilated before they started, and my uterus would have most likely ruptured because it was so thin. Hysterectomy...?!!? Wow, the Lord totally saved me on that one and kept my body from going into labor!! Praise Him! After they told me that, instantly sweet little Champ was here! We heard little cries, which quickly turned to mad cries and a really pouty lip! They were saying he had red hair and was a baldy. Atley has a reddish tint to her hair as well, which she gets from her dad. Today Champ's hair is just blonde on top of his cone shaped head. He was squished down in my pelvis for 20 weeks, head down, and he has quite a cone head to prove it :) He was perfectly average height and weight. Strange for me since Canon was 9.3lbs and the twins were each 4lbs. The nurse taking care of him gave him a 9 on his first Apgar and then he was so pink and reactive she was ready to score his 5 min. test after just 2 minutes. She gave him a 10. She said that she hasn't given a 10 in five years, so we were instantly proud of our little Champ :)
During the surgery, I felt like elephants were jumping on my stomach, no pain, but totally awkward. In the recovery room, I felt great, and this has been the quickest recovery I've had. Mostly because I choose to get off high pain meds as soon as possible and walk around as quickly as possible. Champ is doing great, we finally got some sleep last night, and we are ready to go home! Too bad we have to wait until tomorrow...
The kids came up later on Friday to see him, and were really sweet about it. They were of course a little timid to be back in the hospital with mommy, excited that baby Champ is out of my tummy, but distracted by all the hospital stuff. They have been passing a fever around to each other for the past week, and Canon got it yesterday. So no more visits for them, we'll just wait until we get home.
Yesterday we had a tornado warning in STL, and here in the hospital we had to all go into the hallway and wait until it was over. We were there for at least 30-40 minutes, and I had to nurse Champ in the hallway...lovely:)
Praise you Jesus for a safe and healthy delivery of our fourth precious child!
These pictures are all in random order, enjoy!