So Max decided to show us who's boss once again. Monday evening I started having contractions that wouldn't stop no matter what I did, so we decided to get checked out, thinking Max was still breech. When the nurses did their initial exam, we were delightfully surprised to discover Max had flipped over at some point in the evening and was now ready to be born on his own - no c-section! So the nurses started monitoring and we waited. And waited. And waited. Every time we thought the contractions were starting to pick up, they would stop. And just when we were convinced the contractions were totally done and it was time to head back home, the contractions would start up again stronger than before. Finally late Tuesday morning, Dr. Morgan ordered an ultrasound after a brief concern that Jack was not handling contractions well. Max was just fine (he had just been taking a cat nap in the womb), but we all decided today was the day and we weren't going home. Dr. Morgan broke my water to encourage things along. Once again though, my contractions were strong but didn't progress. So around 1pm or so doc ordered the lowest dose of Pitocin. And things finally started taking off. Max took his first glimpse of the world at 4:31pm July 1. He weighed just barely under 6lbs and stretched out 19 1/4 inches.

So yea! No surgery required. We were able to deliver just the way we wanted. No pain killers - just ibuprofin afterwards. We are looking forward to seeing what kind of person Max will become. So far we think he's going to have an "I'll show you" attitude. Why do we think that? Well....

• I didn't think I was pregnant in the first place. Curtis made me take a test anyway, and well, Max showed us!
• We were convinced we were having a girl. But Max showed all boy at his 21 wk ultrasound.
• He made us go through the whole breech situation. Yes, it was fun to see him with the extra ultrasounds, but the idea of c-section had us really anxious.
• Everyone said we would never make it until July (due date was July 15). Max showed us by coming early but of course he waited until the first day of July to prove everyone wrong.

Trystin and Jack have each had a turn to visit already. Trystin held him for a while and then asked for his Big Brother present. Unfortunately we had forgot it at home in our rush to get to the hospital Monday night. But he understood and is looking forward to finding out what kind of book he'll get once Max is home. Jack was also thrilled to meet his brother. I know he doesn't understand the concept of baby brother, but you could tell he knew Max was special to our family. Jack gave Max the sweetest kiss to welcome him.

We'll add pictures once everyone is settled back at home. Thank you to everyone who's sent us messages!