4 Days Old

First, I apologize for giving so many a scare with the title of the last post. I should have thought that through a little better. The past few days have been wonderful/overwhelming/and somewhat of a blur, and while I've wanted to update here sooner, the free moments have been few and far between.
Sunday morning, I was discharged from the hospital. The wound from my c-section has not bothered me much at all. I had to have 3 of the staples removed before I left because they were a bit infected, but I'm so thankful the pain has been minimal and easily controlled with an advil.
The hardest part of my recovery has been from the loss of blood before/during/and after the surgery. My heart feels like it is beating out of my chest sometimes and just taking a shower or any other small task leaves me exhausted. My last H and H counts were about 7.9 and 23 which are low, but seem to have stabalized.
While I'm sooo happy to be back home with the children, it's been challenging as I have to pump every 3 hours day and night and then just all the trips back and forth to the hospital to deliver the milk/spend time with Samuel coupled with taking care of the children back here at home. I am soooo tired! But I am soooo thankful.
As I remember lying there on that operating table and hearing the doctor say the placenta came out, I am so filled with praise and thanksgiving toward our wonderful God.
I am thankful for those that have provided meals for our family as that has saved us time/energy/money that we have been able to invest in Samuel. And I'm grateful for those that have come by in the evening to sit with the children while they sleep so Daniel and I can visit our little boy together. I treasure those special evenings when it's just the 3 of us.
Samuel is doing great! The night before I was discharged, I went into the NICU to bring him milk and they let me do kangeroo care with my sweet boy for an hour. For those who do not know, that is when you hold your baby skin to skin while covered with blankets. We will be able to hold him more after he's done with his bili light therapy. He's up to taking 12 cc's of milk via his feeding tube and as he is able to increase the amount there, they continue to gradually decrease the amount of nutricion he receives through his PICC line (TPN). Today is the last day of his antibiotic too! :)
When I went up to see him early this afternoon, the only thing he had on his face was the eye mask to protect his eyes from the light thearpy and the little feeding tube down his nose. The nurse turned off the lights and removed his "shades" for a few minutes so I could love on him and it was the first time I'd seen his face so clear of wires/tubes ect... He's just so beautiful.
Each day when we go up to visit, we try to take a different child along to meet their littlest brother. Timothy, Elijah and Rebekah have all had a turn and can't believe how small and cute he is! Nobody can wait until he gets to come home! We are praying that Samuel will continue to do well and will be able to come home closer to the 4 week time frame rather than the 8 week one (as the doctors told us he will be there 4-8 weeks).
Today I would have completed 33 weeks in my pregnancy. I was telling Daniel this morning that while this was the shortest pregnancy I'd ever had, it seemed like the longest! From week 11 on, we wondered if we would ever be able to meet this new child; those days I carried him inside me were filled with prayer and thankfulness as they continued to pass and I continued to feel his little kicks. And now he's here...so sweet, so small, and such a special boy...Samuel- God has Heard.