Angel Wings

Our precious sweet Savanna earned her angel wings yesterday, Friday, May 23rd at 1:30 p.m. We thank God for each and every minute of the six days he loaned her to us and release her back into his care knowing she is safe, protected and perfect. I'm sure she's already with her Big Sister, Brandalyn, her Papa Mobley and her Grand-Papa JB.

Savanna developed internal hemorraging in her lower extremeties as well as a level IV brain bleed late Thursday afternoon that grew progressively worse throughout the evening. Brian and Christi got to spend a good deal of time with her on yesterday, and were with her when she left us. They are very thankful for the time they had to hold her, bathe and dress her.

Thank you all for your prayers, comments and support. Please continue to pray for Christi, Brian, and our entire family as we try to move forward.

God IS good.

Cyndi

Diaper Change!

Christi, her Mom and Grandmother went to see Savanna this morning. The Neonatologist that took such loving care of Brandalyn is back from being out of town and got to see Savanna and talk to Christi today. Dr. Ahmeed is a wonderful doctor, we just love him. He is very caring and nuturing, and believes that one of the most important parts of patient care is family involvement. So, Christi got to touch her sweet baby for the first time today! The day Savanna was born, they wisked her away so quickly that Christi only got a glance of her, and when she saw her later that day, she was already in the incubator. Today Christi had the chance to change her first of many diapers and get her first photos with Mommy. She was so excited!

Savanna continues to do so well! Dr. Ahmeed bumped down her ventilator a bit because her respiration is so good. She had a port placed last night so they won't have to stick her so much, and she did very well with that too. Dr. Ahmeed told Christi he never likes to say he's optomistic, but that's exactly what he told her today! They are going to try her this afternoon on her first little bit of breast milk. Christi also got permission to take a few photos today, (the NICU is a little cautious about digital cameras interfering with the equipment). So here's Savanna, 4 days old. The photo of her and Daddy was taken on Saturday, May 17th, when she was about 3 hours old.

God is Good!

In the NICU, No News Is Good News

Savanna continues to hang in there. Christi and her Mom have gone this morning to see the Little Lady. When they called this morning to check on her, the nurse said she had a good night last night and is still stable. We now subscribe to the "No news is good news" theory. The hospital would only call if there was something going wrong, so no news is a good thing. Hopefully I'll have more to tell later after Savanna gets some Mommy time this morning. She's very responsive to Christi's voice, and will usually wave at her when she speaks to her.

Noon:
Christi had a chance to speak with the neonatologist this morning when she went to see Savanna. The doctor was very pleased with her respiration, blood pressure and heart rate. She's maintaining her blood pressure and heart rate without medication. She has also not lost any weight, which most all babies do in the few days after birth. Christi says her color looks much better today too, so the photo-therapy must be doing well for her jaundice. She is scheduled for another CT next week. The doctor told Christi has was really surprised at how well she has done, she is the smallest baby in the NICU right now and has had three very good days. I'm not surprised at all - it's called the power of prayer. :)

Keep them coming, she is being protected with each and every word!

Little Fighter

Savanna had a very good day yesterday, she's quite the little fighter! She was able to come off dopamine, which helps regulate her blood pressure because she's maintaining it well on her own. Her respiration is pretty good as well, they were moving her to a different ventilator this morning. She had a CT scan yesterday afternoon which came back clear. A major concern with micro preemies are brain bleeds, so the fact that she doesn't have one was good news. It's not to say she may not develop one in the future, but she doesn't have one now. We'll take it!

Christi got to come home this morning, and when she and Brian went back to see Savanna this morning before they left, she was still doing well. She is having a blood transfusion today, which is also common for micro preemies, and she has developed jaundice, so she's under the lights.

You'll notice that the "h" has been dropped from the end of her name. Christi and Brian decided to spell her name a little differently. I will be keeping the website address the same in order to avoid having to change it.

Keep praying, we know it is making a difference!

Mid-day Update

Savanna's still hanging in there and doing pretty well. Brian has been able to see her a couple of times this morning. Her temperature, heart rate and breathing are all pretty good. She's on a ventilator, and has already managed to wet four diapers.

Christi is doing well, just ready for a real shower and a Dr. Pepper. More updates when we have more to tell. Please keep the prayers coming.

Happy Birthday Savanna Hope!

She's here, and that's basically all I know right now. Savanna Hope was born at 8:01 a.m. weighing in at 1 lb., 3 oz. this morning. Christi's contractions would stop while she was sleeping, but would be fierce when she was awake. At 8:00 this morning, there was no other way to keep Savanna from greeting the world - she didn't even wait for her Daddy! Brian is on his way to the hospital now. Christi and her Mom got a brief glance at her before they wisked her off to the NICU. Her heart rate and blood pressure went up as soon as they intubated her.

As you might expect given our history, we are terrified. Please pray as hard as you know how that Savanna will be strong and come out of this o.k. I will post more as soon as I can.

Just Hangin' Out

Christi had an early morning ultrasound today. Savanna is still doing very well - growing and just hanging out. She appears to weigh over a lb. and a half now, so she's right where she should be at this point in her development, and all of her organs and fingers, toes, etc. look perfect! The best part is that she was lying horizontally, not head down, so she seems to have no interest in entering the birth canal which is fantastic!

The doctor told Savanna when he left that he would see her next Friday. Yea!

Thanks so much for your supportive comments, and please leave us more. We love them. It really gives all of us a lift to know so many people are thinking of and praying for us!

8:00 p.m. Update:

Christi started having contractions around 1:30 that lasted throughout the afternoon. They were about 15 minutes apart and 30 seconds long at their worst. The more anxious she became, the worse the contractions became, until the nurse called her doctor and he gave instructions to sedate her for the evening. They put her on oxygen since her breathing is so shallow from the magnesium and she would be in such a deep sleep. It appeared to work - she went out minutes after they gave her the shot and the contractions appeared to have stopped again. Please keep praying - Savanna needs all of the time she can possibly get to develop before she has to be born.