Well, here she is. The wait is over! This morning the journey began at about 6:20. A nurse came in to help get Michelle all prepped and ready to go. She was hooked up to test her blood pressure and Ellah's heart rate before everything went down. Then it seemed like everyone and their dog came in to give us some info or advice, as if everything wasn't stressful enough. Eventually we got the room packed up and shipped down to the Mother Baby rooms before the procedure took place. Once everything was ready to go, she got wheeled in through the big scary security locked doors where I couldn't follow, just yet. She went to get a spinal tap and a cathader placed, (which she now thuroughly enojoys because she doesn't have to get up to go all the time now). After a super nervous nurse came to take me back for the surgery, I walked into a room buzzing with people. Our doctor looking at my wife's belly covered with a yellow plastic-type material, proabably to protect her. The rest of her seemed to be swallowed in a sea of blue tissue-like paper and towels. Once on the other side of the huge blue barrier of sheets, towels, and tissue, i saw my Michelle's head sticking out of the blue mess as if straining for air. She was pretty much out of it, but completely aware and nervous for what was going on- as any mother would be. The whole thing took about 8 minutes, and at 7:54 Ellah Grace Taylor showed her precious little face over that big wall of blue nothing that faded away as the only thing in this world that mattered, Ellah. Oh and how beautiful she is. She was quickly passed through the window to the NICU to make sure she was able to breathe on her own. After Michelle was sewn back up i was able to go to see Ellah as she placed on moniters and got an iv, having tubes placed in her lungs and stomach, some medicine pressed into her lung to help them absorb oxygen better. During all of these pokes, pushes and draws, i was looking at the most beautiful thing I'd every seen. My baby girl. She's doing great. There aren't any complications, beyond the coming early ones. So, basically she has to learn to eat on her own, without any helping from tubes, beathe on her one without extra oxygen, and maintain her body temperature. The table-side dr. said that usually babies at 37 weeks reach all of the criteria, but some as early as 36,37. So we could be hear as little as 2 weeks or over a month. Either way, we get to go in and see her at any time. We have these cool little wrist bands that let us ''get through the gates''.

Everything is going great, we're just back to the waiting game. Thanks to everyone who's come in to visit, sent cards, and kept us in your prayers. We really appreciate it.