Owen and I checked out of Hotel de St. Vincent's this morning. It was such a relief to be coming home, but definitely bitter sweet. It was sad to drive away and leave our little girl there. But we know she is in the best hands, and receiving wonderful care where she is.

On my first outing, we went to grab lunch (to go) at Newk's. It was so good to just be outside, even though it was raining. I haven't been outside in 2 weeks.

Before we left, we went to visit our baby girl, and check on how her night went. Her Bilirubin levels went up a bit, so they increased the photo therapy (basically just added a second tanning bed looking light), and opened up her diaper so more of her skin can be exposed to the light. They weren't too concerned, but please pray that those Bilirubin levels even out and get to where they need to be.

Her breathing is still doing well. She's still on the CPAP, and her O2 levels are still at 21%. That means that she is breathing 21% oxygen, which is what "room air" levels are - the same that you and I breathe. This is a very good thing. 21% is where we want her. When they first put her on the CPAP, they had to adjust the O2 levels to 65-70%, so she is improving in this area. Praise God for this!!

They were able to get the PICC line in her foot last night, but just barely. It didn't go up as high as they wanted it to, but it's in just enough to be usable, so it's a step in the right direction. The PICC line (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) is basically an IV line that can be used for long periods of time. They can use it to draw blood for testing, and give her various IV meds as needed. She still has 2 other IV lines in her arms, but this one will act as the main line. They may try a little later to get it to go all the way in the way they need it to, but we haven't heard yet. Please pray that this line stays in and she doesn't kick it out. She's quite feisty and doesn't like all the IV's and being messed with, so she frequently pulls out her IV's! The little rascal!

Other than that, she had a really good night, and was resting comfortably when we saw her. We'll go back this evening to visit again, after we get things settled at home.

Now we're going to pick up the Monkey (our dog). We've missed him so much, and cannot wait another day to see him.

I'll post pictures later tonight. They are kind of hard to see, because her bed is wrapped in Saran Wrap, so there's a glare. And with the photo therapy lights on, she looks like she's lying in a tanning bed. But I've got a few good ones I can share.

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Sayla Grace is continuing to defy all odds through the power of prayer. Last night they took her off of the ventilator and put her on a baby CPAP machine. This machine works just like an adult CPAP that lots of people wear for sleep apnea. It basically breathes for her when she forgets. Sometimes babies end up going back on the vent after this change, but so far so good. She's tolerated it well and it's a step in the right direction.

Her weight is down to 1lb 8ozs, but they say that's normal, and she could lose even more. She does have a touch of Jaundice, which they will treat with photo-therapy. Not a huge deal either, we just pray that the photo-therapy works and no other measures to treat that are needed.

The biggest milestone of the day is that she peed AND pooped today!!! Last night she was just dribbling on the cotton ball - yes...she is so tiny that they have a cotton ball between her legs to catch the tee-tee. Well during my visit last night I talked to her and told her we needed her to pee. She had 24 hours to pee a good bit before they would start intervening with medicine. After my little pep talk, she peed, and the nurse measured it. They measure it by weighing the diaper and cotton ball, and then weighing a clean diaper and cotton ball. That round was only 4cc's. Not enough to ward of the intervention. So before I left for the night, I gave her another pep talk and asked her to please pee and poop for us. When I went back this morning, she had peed 10cc's and pooped!! So they've moved the cotton ball and now she has on the tiniest diapers you've ever seen. So tiny you can't even buy them in stores!! And it doesn't even fit her. It's about big enough to fit 1.5 Barbie dolls. Maybe 2.

We received a call from the neonatologist this afternoon after she made her rounds. Phone calls from them are always scary, because you don't know if it's going to be good news or bad news. Owen answered, and partway through the conversation his voice started to crack, so I got very nervous!! But Dr. Beird just wanted to tell us that everything was going great, and she was very pleased with her progress! We immediately dropped to our knees in Thanksgiving to God. Because we know that it is by His Grace that she is doing so well.

Many people have asked if the doctors have figured out why I went into preterm labor. These doctors don't know...there is no medical reason that they can find. But we know why...The Great Physician has a story to tell. And He knew we would tell it. Sayla Grace is going to be His miracle baby, and He has chosen us to tell her story, so that others may see the good works He can do. Through the power of prayer (from great Prayer Warriors like you!), our little girl will work through all of this, coming out stronger on the other side.

"Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." ~Philippians 4:7



**I will post pictures when we get home. I have my camera, but no cord to upload the pics.**

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At 1:36a this morning, we welcomed our precious baby girl, Sayla Grace, into the world. She weighs 1 pound, 11 oz, and is doing as well as a 27 week old baby can do. I am feeling fine, just letting the effects of the epidural and other meds wear off, and trying to catch up on sleep. Owen is doing well too, just nervous and anxious for our little girl.

My water broke around 11p on Monday night. I had random contractions, but nothing major. I then started having pretty regular contractions yesterday afternoon, and they were able to calm them down with some different meds. The meds made me feel like I was drunk as a skunk and I really didn't like them at all. At one point I told them I'd rather suffer through the contractions than have those meds again. But as we got into the evening, my body started taking over. It started telling us all that something was not right with my body, and the baby would be better off outside the womb. At that point it was too late for any meds to stop them.

The contractions were excruciatingly painful. And as the night went on, they got worse and worse. Around 1am I was around 4.5-5cm dilated and 100% effaced. The nurse called the doctor, who started heading to the hospital. It's a good thing she lives 13 miles away and was able to get here so quickly.

They called in the anesthesiologist, and he came and set up his work station. In between my contractions, the nurse was able to sit me up (much to my chagrin), and the anesthesiologist worked very quickly. I had 2 contractions while I was sitting up, and right after he got the epidural in (and pumped some pretty strong meds through), I said to the nurse "This baby is coming"

She replied, "I know sweetie, I know." And I told her (or rather screamed at her) "No you don't! I mean it! She is coming...NOW!!! I have to lay down!!"

I think she got the point, and she let me lie down. One very small push later and there she was! Pink as could be, and she let out the sweetest, most tiny cry you've ever heard. It sounded like a little cat.

We didn't get to hold her (and still haven't yet), because they started working on her right away, helping her breathe and getting her cleaned up a bit.

We got to visit her around 630a this morning. She is so tiny, but so beautiful. She's still very pink in color, and has a head full of dark hair. She's hooked up to all sorts of contraptions, including a tiny ventilator and lots of IV's and meds. It's hard to see her, because her little bed is wrapped in saran wrap (literally!). I've taken some pictures, but you really can't see her in them because the saran wrap gets in the way. As soon as I can get some good pictures, I'll post them for sure.

She scored a 6 and then a 7 on her APGAR test, which was very encouraging. Some full term babies don't score that high. They typically do one more APGAR test on preemies, but we haven't gotten that number yet.

Her breathing was improving already. When they first hooked her up to the vent, it was breathing for her 40 times a minute. By the time we got there at 6:30, it was only breathing for her 17 times a minute!!

We only got to stay for a few minutes, as it was about to be shift change. Owen and I can visit almost any time, but everyone else has limited hours. Even though all you can do is sit and stare at her, we'd like to keep her visits to a minimum during these first critical days. She needs her rest, and she can hear and sense your presence, and she starts getting fidgety.

The first 72 hours are the most critical for her, as her organs learn to function outside of my womb. Her head has some extra blood vessels in it, as her brain is still developing. There is a very high risk that she will have swelling in her brain, which is what causes birth defects like Cerebral Palsy. They say if that is going to happen, it most likely will happen within 72 hours. So we ask that you pray specifically for no swelling and stabilization over the next 72 hours.

Then we will take it day by day, as we have been for the last 12 days. Our little angel was born on the 13th day here...our lucky number 13. Up until that point, she defied all odds, and surprised everyone. She will have to be here until my due date - October 25th - unless by about the 34th, 35th week she is doing extremely well, then she might be able to come home then.

She is tiny, but she is beautiful. The Lord created her to accomplish great things in her tiny little life, and we are excited and anxious to see how He uses her for His Kingdom.

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Today we reached another milestone! I'm officially 27 weeks along today. It's the beginning of 27 weeks, but it's 27 weeks nonetheless!!

Here's what is going on with baby this week:

This week, baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like the head of a cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, her brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now.

So that's good news. If she's keeping up with the normal stats, of course. She has been surpassing them since we've been here, so hopefully she'll be at least 2 pounds by week's end.

Today was another good day. This morning our Sunday School class came up here after the regular church service to have Sunday School in our hospital room. They brought yummy Taziki's for lunch and we had a nice discussion about The Trinity (Father, Son & Holy Spirit). Here's a question to ponder..."If you had to describe The Holy Trinity to someone who knew nothing about it, what would you say?" It's tough! I suggested they read the book "The Shack" - a very good book (murder mystery) about The Trinity.

Other than that we had a good visit from all of our parents, and Sayla Grace learned a new trick to scare her mommy...

They monitor her heartbeat once a shift for about an hour at a time. We can hear it and see it on the monitor. I like to listen to it, because it makes me feel connected to her. Well, yesterday when the doc was in here, her heart rate slowly dropped to next to nothing! The doctor took her hand and shook my belly, to which SGP responded by speeding her heart rate back to normal. The doctor and nurses assured us it is not a big deal, but it still scared me.

They say that babies will play with their umbilical cord - squeeze it, tug it, lay on it - and that's what makes it slow down. As long as the heartbeat is normal before and after the drop (which hers is) it's no big deal.

So SGP has decided that her cord is a new plaything. Last night she messed with it quite a bit and had me very scared. Then she did it again this morning. We talked with the doc about it again today, and she told me not to worry one bit. So I've tried not to worry, but whenever it happens, I give my belly a good shake!!

I had some pretty regular contractions late this evening - 4 in about an hour. I'm allowed 6 an hour before they put me back on IV meds. *They already have the IV supplies in the room just in case!!* I got a shot of the oral meds to calm those contractions, and with that and 64 ozs of water later I'm doing much better. Minus the never ending bathroom breaks!!!


*Yesterday they took me completely off of the IV. We had asked the doc how long I had to be on the saline drip after they took me off the penicillin, and she ordered me off of it yesterday. They originally left the line in, and "heparin locked" it so that they would still have an open line. When the nurse flushed it out a few hours later, it hurt BAD (it's not supposed to hurt) and I couldn't move my arm. We determined that the vein blew, so they removed it altogether. Although it hurt, I was kind of glad because it meant one less contraption to be hooked up to!

This little rascal is bound and determined to make me "work" in the business of motherhood!!! She's not going to make this easy on me, that's for sure!!

Our new goal is next Sunday when we'll be 28 weeks. We've been defying all odds up until this point - no doubt in our minds a direct result of prayer. God Himself is keeping this little girl inside, and one day we are going to have a little miracle on our hands. He's got great things in store for her....just you wait!!!

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Today has been a pretty good day so far. Mom came this morning with a new comforter. It's pink and green, and when Owen first saw it he thought mom had brought SGP's bedding up here! It's much more cozy than the hospital blanket, and makes me feel right at home.

The doctor let me come off of the penicillin drip and has put me on oral antibiotics. I have to stay on them just to ward of any potential infection for the baby's sake, but I don't mind. Though I still have the saline drip in, so I've still got the IV...they make anyone on bed rest have that so they can be sure my fluids are regulated. I don't mind the saline so much because it doesn't hurt. The penicillin burned every time they changed the bag, so I'm happy to be rid of that.

I'm getting used to the no sugar diet, though it's no fun when they bring me a big biscuit for breakfast and I can't eat it. Owen quickly gobbles it up for me though!

Today at 11:30ish we will have officially made it one week. It really hasn't been that bad, considering. Sunday is our week mark for the pregnancy. We'll be 27 weeks and that's a huge mark!

So we're just hanging in there until Sunday and we'll have a big day then. Our Sunday School class is going to come up here and have class in our room. We're very excited about that, because we're already really missing going to church on Sunday's. So that will be a nice addition to our week.

I've received lots of emails and posts on facebook from everyone, and I'm sorry I haven't responded to you. I assure you that we read them daily and enjoy getting them. It's just hard for me to find a way to prop up the computer and type back to you. So please know that we really feel your thoughts and prayers and appreciate it more than you know!! We have such wonderful friends and family and your support is really helping us!

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