Channing Charlton Walker

We've been planning and patiently waiting for this moment for the past 39.5 weeks!  We had been instructed to arrive at the hospital at 5:15am on November 16, 2011 for my scheduled C-Section at 7:15am.  I spent the night before making sure that everything had been packed just the way we wanted it to be and that Jude was packed and ready for his 4 night stay with his Grandma Bonnie.  Once Jude had been dropped off at Grandma's house, Ian and I decided to have one last "date night" before we became a family of 4!  We had dinner at The Olive Garden and returned home to try to get some sleep before our early morning plans.  I tossed and turned all night and just wasn't able to get comfortable enough to get any sleep.  At 3:30am the alarm clock went off and we got up and got ready for our big day!  We arrived at the hospital on time and I was prepped and ready to meet our baby girl.  Here's a picture of me taken around 7:00am, just prior to my surgery:

Channing Charlton Walker arrived on November 16, 2011 at 7:38am!  At birth she weighed 7 lbs, 2 oz and was 19 inches long.

Ian, Channing, and I were reunited following my surgery in the recovery room where we were able to start "kangaroo care" and nursing.  I was amazed at how quickly little Channing took to nursing; she latched on the very first try!

A little later in the day, once we were settled into our hospital room, Channing got to meet her big brother, Jude, and her grandparents!  Jude, being only 18 months old, was interested in Channing, but only for a few minutes at a time.  Jude loves to say "baby" and he now understands what a "baby" is.  Here is our first picture as a family of four followed by some other pictures that were taken over the next couple of days in the hospital:

Everyone was looking forward to meeting Channing once she was born.  Here are a few pictures of our little princess and some of her family members:



Channing and Mommy with "Nana" and "Papa" Haseman



Channing with her Grandma Bonnie



Uncle David with Channing & Mommy

Once we were discharged from the hospital, we got Miss Channing all dressed up in her "going home" outfit and snapped a few pictures.  Here she is ready to go home:

When we left the hospital, we stopped to visit with and introduce Channing to her Great Grandma Bostick and then we stopped and picked up Jude from his Grandma Bonnie's house.  Upon returning home we found this outside of our house:

Welcome Miss Channing Charlton Walker!

We are so happy to have you in our family and we already love you dearly!