Elijah's arrival - just in time for Christmas!

Here's the story of how Elijah came into the world, complete with some gory details for those of you who love that kind of thing. :-)
Our sweet boy arrived with quite a bit of drama. Dr. Mc had warned me of things that might happen due to the placenta previa, and warning signs to watch for if things went wrong. Around 8:30 on Saturday night, those signs were pretty evident as I started bleeding pretty badly and lost a good bit of the placenta. We made a few phone calls - to my friend Autumn to come over quickly, to the doctor on call, to our parents and siblings, to a couple of friends to get the word out to pray for us, and woke the kids up (who'd been asleep for all of 10-15 minutes) to rapidly get together and head to the hospital. I was nervous about Elijah's health, knowing that if the placenta had abrupted completely, he was in serious danger. I wasn't having contractions really, but just pain that had worsened some in my lower back. It had felt different all afternoon and I'd had contractions on and off, but the pain and pressure were the most noticeable. I even told James at one point I felt like I had torn a muscle or something, deep down in my abdomen. I guess that was an accurate description, since my placenta had pulled and torn away from the uterus.
We arrived at the hospital quickly, Autumn stayed with the kids in the waiting room, where my brother was already sitting. I was taken directly to a labor and delivery room, and quickly we started preparing for surgery. Dr. Ross encouraged me that we weren't in a panic, and this was not yet an emergency situation, but that we had no time to waste either. As soon as I heard Elijah's heartbeat on the monitor I was fine, and excited that we'd finally arrived at the point to have this baby. My parents got stuck in traffic on the interstate, so I didn't get to see them before we went back to the operating room. Within an hour of arriving, we were holding our sweet baby boy, and it was an amazing moment hearing his first scream as they pulled him out of his comfy spot in my womb. The dr. exclaimed as he lifted him up that he was a big boy, and indeed he was, at 8 pounds, and 11 ounces - and almost a month early!
We were in recovery soon, and able to show him to Isaac and Abigail and my parents. Though at first his blood sugar was very low, after a feeding and monitoring that first night, he was fine and didn't have to be checked anymore. He nursed right away with no problem, and our stay in the hospital was rather uneventful. We had many guests come to see us, and share in our joy and it was so neat to see how many folks have prayed for this baby with us and now can see these prayers answered. James was able to stay with me in the room most of every day and each night, which was great too.
As far as recovery, I've had normal pain, but nothing extreme, and when I had to get up and walk the first morning, it wasn't too bad. I think having several surgeries before had to help me deal with the pain as well as I did. We came on home a day early, because we were ready to all be together and have the peace of our own home, though the care in the hospital was wonderful. Tuesday night we were all together, as my parents brought the big brother and sister home from Decatur, where they'd been the whole time. They had fun there, and it was a relief to know they were well taken care of while I couldn't be there with them.
We came home to a computer with some major issues, so I've been frustrated at not being able to blog and post pictures easily, but have at least remedied the situation enough for now to get these up. Elijah is a beautiful boy, with chubby cheeks, pretty coloring, and the sweetest personality. So far, he resembles James a ton, and everyone notices that. He is super laidback, sleeps great, and cries only when needing a diaper change or hungry. Our adjustment to being a family of 5 has not been too difficult so far. It's been incredibly helpful having James home this whole first week, since he only had 2 days off with Abigail, and we're enjoying spending lots of time together as a family, before the normal routine of school and work has to begin again in another week.
Thank you all for your kind wishes, cards, gifts, and flowers, welcoming our sweet gift home just before Christmas. This has been a holiday we'll always treasure, and we praise God for giving us this son, and for protecting him from harm, and keeping him healthy and whole. We don't take that for granted, ever.