Update from Phoenix

Michelle's parents and grandfather showed up, having driven all night from Texas, about twelve minutes before the decision was made to go get the baby. It was really good that they got to spend some time together before the c-section, and I know that out of everything that could have possibly happened with this pregnancy, this was the thing that pleased Michelle the most.

I had prayed very, very hard to not faint and not fall apart during the c-section, so I refused to press my luck and watch the proceedings. I did hazard a glance as they removed little Stephen from Michelle's tummy, and the first thing he did was go to the bathroom. Me (sotto voce): "Hey honey, he's taking a leak!" Nurse (loudly): "His plumbing works!"

They prepped him and put him in a crib while they finished up with Michelle, and I accompanied him to the NICU. Once there, they spent about half an hour getting some blood drawn, putting some lubricant in his lungs, getting excess air and fluid out of his stomach, and starting an IV with some nutrients in it. They also had to put him on "continuous positive air pressure", meaning they were keeping his lungs inflated so they wouldn't stick together.

After that, it was an adventure finding Michelle in the recovery room, so much so that I actually ran into all the parents and Elizabeth beforehand. I held my little girl for a while, then went off to find Michelle. I got there just in time: they were moving her out of recovery and into her own room in with all the regular patients. I followed her up to her room, went back to the waiting room to find my parents and Elizabeth, directed them to Michelle's room, then down to the cafeteria to find Michelle's parents and direct them to Michelle's room, but also take them to see Stephen. I found time to grab some lunch while I was down there.

After going back up, Michelle's parents elected to stay with her, so I took my parents down to see the boy and was also stopped to fill out some paperwork. I got that taken care of, and by the time that was over everyone was ready to go to a hotel and crash out. I spent the night with Michelle, watching some baseball on TV, and helping her get more and more mobile as she recovered from the surgery.

Today, Stephen is off the "C-Pap", and Michelle's family is with her and Elizabeth. I took this morning to make arrangements with work -- they're going to let me work remotely for the next couple of months, which is good. I'm very pleased about that. A sub will be found for Primary as well, which I'm infinitely grateful for.

It's strange -- now that I think about it, I don't think that Michelle's parents have seen Stephen yet. They should probably hurry it up, as the NICU is going to be closed for an hour and a half before visiting hours end. It's a shame that they don't really like me or seem to want me to show them the baby. They saw him immediately after surgery, in the corridor between the OR and the NICU, but haven't since then, and he looks a LOT better. It's a very sad situation, but I should be grateful at least that they showed up at all.

Tonight I'm staying with my parents again, and then we are all going to come up tomorrow. I think that I will stay a while with Michelle again, just to give her a hand while she goes through the discharge procedure. Plus, we have all of these wonderful board games to play together. It's almost like going on a date, except there are no movies, and the food isn't all that great. :-)

More later. I don't know what time Michelle's parents are planning on leaving, but I am planning on staying out of the picture for a while. I'm going back down to the caff to get something to eat, and hopefully Michelle will take the cue and give me a call when it's time to get Elizabeth.

I'm really glad that everything is going well... it's really a miracle the way that everything is working out, and we know a lot of that is due to the prayers and faith of friends, family, and loved ones. Overall, this has been a good experience, despite all the trials we had to get through to get here -- or more likely than not, BECAUSE OF all the trials we had to get through to get here.