Wow. Savannah made her way into the world almost exactly 24 hours ago. It’s hard to believe. Here’s a quick update:

12:20p: Savannah was born weighing 5lbs 1.5oz and 17 inches long. Immediately after she was born, she was taken to the regular nursery for cleaning and initial shots. Because she was born so early (5 weeks) we knew that she might have a hard time breathing. While she is able to do so on her own, the doctors felt it best to put her into the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) for further observation and testing. So far, she’s doing great and the doctors are anticipating that she won’t be in there long. Of course, we’d love to know how long she’ll be in there but it’s not possible to define that as of yet. Best guess right now is about a week.

At this point, I get to visit her about every 3 hours to deliver some breast milk from Kristy. I love those times. Just me and my girl. I love squeezing her little hand, talking to her, trying to get her to open her little eyes, and when she cries trying to comfort and soothe her. It’s even fun to squeeze her knees and tickle her feet. She doesn’t like it, but I do. I’m going to love being a dad.

Kristy is doing well. She’s surprised that the pain and inconveniences of the C-Section aren’t as she anticipated; it’s better than expected. Today has been a bit of an emotional day; as expected. She’s very hormonal because of the physiological aspects of what her body is going through but when you add the fact that we can’t hold and be with Savannah, it just adds to the emotions. She’s now off of her IV and eating real food. Today at some point, she’ll probably start walking some. We’ll see.

I’m doing very well. I have a lot on my plate with the company and the construction of our house, but I really couldn’t care less about all of that right now. The most important people and concerns of mine are sitting in a hospital in Nashville, TN. I will be their protector, their provider and a helpmate. We’re a family now and that means that we’re a team; working together, sticking together and helping each other embrace our new life. Nothing is more important than that right now.

I’m already starting to experience an inconsistent sleep schedule. I finally went home last night at 11 and got back at the hospital around 12:15a; helped Kristy pump at 12:30, delivered the milk to Savannah at 12:50a and hit the hay about 1amish. Woke up at 3am to the nurse, 4 am to pump and deliver, 6am by the nurse and 7am by housekeeping and to pump again. And so life with a new born starts. I love it and wouldn’t change it for anything.

Finally, I’m so excited that my parents are coming up to see us on Friday. They were planning on coming up next week to actually be here for the birth but since Savannah surprised us all, they’re coming up as fast as they could. My dad is going to stay the week to help me with the house and a bunch of other necessary and timely projects. I can’t even express how much that’s going to help me. I’m VERY appreciative.

If you’re wanting to see more pictures of Savannah, we’ve posted them on our Flickr site: www.flickr.com/photos/chownage. By default we have all of the pictures set to private. If you would like to see them, you’ll need a Flickr account and then request us as a contact. I’ll grant friends and family access.

I’ll keep you posted here as things progress. Thanks for your love and care.

Kyle, Kristy & Savannah Grace

PS. Savannah is now 25 hours and 16 minutes old.