Hi, I’m Savannah.
I’m a NICU nurse, a NICU mom, and the voice behind Savannah Speaks.
But I was a NICU mom before I ever understood just how much that title would change the way I practiced as a nurse.
My son, Braxton, was diagnosed with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia during my pregnancy. We were given terrifying odds, moved hours away from home for his delivery, and spent 48 days in the NICU.
I knew medical terminology. I understood monitors, medications, and equipment.
And I was still scared.
Because knowing what a monitor does doesn’t make it easier when it’s attached to your baby.
Being a nurse didn’t prepare me for what it felt like to stand on the other side of the bedside—to wait for rounds, analyze every number on the monitor, celebrate tiny milestones, question whether I was asking too much, and desperately want someone to tell me what came next.
That experience changed me.
It changed the nurse I am, the mother I am, and the way I think about the role parents deserve to have in their baby’s care.
That’s why I created Motherhood Between Monitors.
I want this to be a place for the things I wish someone had explained to me when I was standing beside my son’s NICU bed.
We’ll talk about monitors and feeding, rounds and discharge, questions to ask, things that sound scary but aren’t always scary, and the things nobody really prepares you for.
But we’ll also talk about you.
The parent learning how to be a mom or dad in a room where it sometimes feels like everyone else knows your baby better than you do.
You don’t need a medical degree to deserve an explanation.
You don’t have to understand everything the first time.
You are allowed to ask the same question again.
And you are an important part of your baby’s team.
I eventually created The NICU Parent Playbook because I wanted families to have something tangible to help them understand what was happening, organize the information coming at them, prepare for rounds, track their baby’s progress, and find their voice at the bedside.
But Motherhood Between Monitors is bigger than a book.
I want it to become a little corner of the internet where NICU parents can learn, laugh, ask questions, and feel a little less alone in a world they never expected to enter.
Because I’ve stood on both sides of that bedside.
And if something I’ve learned as a NICU nurse and NICU mom can make this experience even a little less overwhelming for another family, then it’s worth sharing.
I’m glad you’re here.
Until next time, advocate like a mother. 💙
— Savannah Mahon, BSN, RN
NICU Nurse • NICU Mom • Creator of Savannah Speaks & The NICU Parent Playbook
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