So many things to be thankful for...

Today has been another day of progress for Leah. When I got to the hospital this morning, they had already removed her other arterial line. She now only has her food line in her nose and then the sensors to keep track of respiration, heart rate, etc. Leah also had another day under the lights, but they expect the lights to be off soon. So, it was another day of sunbathing for her.

She had a head ultrasound today (standard for premature babies) and the preliminary results were normal. We also found out that her feeds will continue to increase. I started "kangaroo care" with Leah today which is entails skin to skin contact. Leah settled in nicely and promptly fell asleep. It was so relaxing that I could have too.

Big brother also experienced holding Leah for the first time. He did very well and didn't want to let her go. She is 1391 grams as of tonight. So, she only gained a little since last night, but she gained so that is good.

It was another day to be thankful for good friends and family. We have had so many well wishes over the last week in many different forms. Today, came the addition of a beautiful diaper cake from my Sprint friends with gift certificates to restaurants tucked all throughout it. Quin also received a gift card to Toys R Us and is already planning his shopping trip. When we returned from the hospital tonight, we also returned to a freezer full of meals from Social Suppers and cards from friends and family. Thank you to all for continuing to look out for us! We were just starting to have some challenges with the whole dinner thing, so the timing is perfect for food.

It has been a great day. Thank you to all for making it one!

Note: I have new pics of Leah, including Quin holding her, pics of the great gifts. When I went to update the blog, I asked Brian where he put the camera. It was then that he realized that he left it at the hospital. So, new pics will have to wait until tomorrow :-)

Update

Leah continues to do well. Last night she weighed in at 1380 grams (a little over 3 lbs.) so she has now surpassed her birth weight! Brian and I are also getting lessons in converting grams to lbs and ounces.

She was back under the lights for a little jaundice, so she spent a nice day napping in the sun yesterday.

Leah is also tolerating her feeds well. She is going up every other feed as long as she tolerates it and so far so good. So, all of this sleeping and eating should help her plump up quickly.

I am off to the hospital now for the rest of the day. I will get some more pics uploaded soon.

Keep the thoughts and prayers coming, they are working!

More pictures

Finally, an update

Pictures: Leah holding Daddy's finger and Quin holding Leah's hand.

It is hard to believe that it is already Sunday. The last week has been so surreal, I can't get over how much has changed in such a short time.

Leah is doing very well. She has been taken off all oxygen support as of Wednesday. So, she didn't even have to have it for long. They gave her medicine on Tuesday to strengthen her lungs and that has been working great. She is also getting caffeine each day to stimulate her lungs.

She was under the "lights" briefly for jaundice, but quickly moved through that as well. She is continuing to test well and hasn't had them on since Thursday.

She continues to test well on everything else. Really, the focus now is just putting on weight. She is taking breast milk through a tube in her nose and the amount she takes is going up every other feeding (feedings are every 3 hours) as long as she tolerates them. As of last night, she is just about back up to her birth weight of 3 lbs. (just as expected she lost a little and has been working on putting it back on).

Her nurse today, Ashley, gave her a bottle and she did take about 5 ccs through the bottle. Not a lot, but she did some. She has been practicing all week with a "binky" so they will continue to try a bottle as they see signs that she is interested.

You will see in the pictures that we get to take her out and hold her, but she has to be bundled up so that her body temperature stays up. Once she gets some more fat on her, she will be able to hold her body temperature.

We also found out that she will get to start wearing clothes in the next couple of days. She still has a line going into her belly button that is giving her fluids, but as her feedings continue to increase, she will get to have the line removed. So, thanks to all of you that have already given us "preemie" clothes. They have been washed and put in her drawer at the hospital so that she will be very well dressed when she has the opportunity.

She is has moments where she is super alert and you can sit and talk with her for a while. It seems that she is starting to recognize voices. Leah is also great fun to watch sleep. She must be having sweet dreams because you can catch her smiling quite a bit.

As for me, I am feeling better day by day. I got to come home on Friday. I got the option of staying another day, but was definitely ready to sleep more than an hour at a time. I came home with blood pressure medicine, because my blood pressure is still fluctuating. That medicine has made me feel a ton better. Headaches are not as frequent and not as bad. The swelling has gone down drastically. I must have looked horrible at the beginning of the week. I keep running into nurses at the hospital that I don't remember, but they keep telling me how much better I look. I am still pretty swelled, so it must have been really, really bad. My incision is a minor issue compared to all of this other stuff.

Leah Isabel Savlin

Leah has arrived. A little earlier than expected as many of you may know. I had been have problems with swelling, and over the weekend those symptoms turned into full blown echlampsia. Luckily, I called the dr. on Sunday and he thought that I should come in to be checked out. My blood pressure and other tests weren't bad, but weren't good. On another lucky note, the dr. decided to keep me for observation. I sent Brian home, because I wasn't feeling too bad. That is where is started going bad.

I don't remember much of the night, which is probably a good thing. It seems that I had a couple of seizures and tried to get out of bed and take out my IV. I won't share the other not pleasant details. But suffice it to say, there are lot of people at the hospital on the floor that know me and I don't recall meeting them :-)

So, they got me stabalized during the night. My regular dr. came in first thing on Monday and broke the news that for both my and the baby's health, we needed to deliver that day.

At 2:25 pm via c-section on June 22nd, Leah Isabel Savlin was born. 3 lbs and 17 inches long. Came out crying and looking like her brother. She went 24 hours without a name because we weren't quite expecting her yet and wanted to give Quin the chance to weigh in once he saw her. Quin made the final decision on the name Tuesday afternoon noon once we gave him our final options.

Tuesday, I was able to hold her twice all swaddled up. She has a little c-pap over her nose to push oxygen in. She has several other tubes or wires hooked to her, but the good news is getting treated for all of the basic "preemie" needs. She is getting lipids and other nutrients and will start feedings of breast milk through a tube today. She is also in the process as we speak of getting some medicine to stimulate her lungs. And just like her brother, she is jaundice today, so she is getting to go under the lights.

Thanks to all for their thoughts and prayers, well wishes, flowers, and gifts. We are fortunate to has such great friends and family! Keep the thoughts and prayers coming. We are optimistic though that Leah will be in the hospital for about 4 or 5 weeks and then get to go home. I will most likely be here until Friday. I had originally hoped for tomorrow, but they are watching blood pressure and other things closely.

We will use the blog to post updates so that hopefully, you don't have to wait to hear the latest. I am also attaching some pictures for you to take a look at.