Christian's first 6 weeks

 I'm a little behind on the blog...we've been busy and happy! Here are a few highlights from Christian's early days...seems so long ago already!

He did okay for the first few minutes of his first bath...

....and then he let us know how he really felt about it! Pretty adorable in the shark towel Katie made!!

Another great face...3 weeks old - we made crowns for our Family Home Evening lesson on "I am a Child of God".

Grandma Goldberg was such a huge help - she got to stay for two whole weeks. She is truly an angel. We miss her so!

Watching Katie get her mission call - so exciting!- she will be serving in Auckland New Zealand as a missionary starting July 4!

4 weeks old...starting to smile!

Camping in the backyard with Dad and Grandpa Hill

Elijah did great - he loves hanging out with Grandpa!

We had fun finishing Elijah's airplane quilt - Grandma was such a patient teacher!

Getting some sweet hugs on Christian's blessing day

Christian was blessed at home by Dad, with Grandpa Hill and Uncle Charles - a very special occasion

This shirt says it all - little Christian is definitely Mommy's little hero!

 He's my hero not only because he is such a super sweet baby, but also because he survived such a nasty bout with RSV that sent him into the ER at 6 weeks old. The only time I had ever called 911 was when Lucas was a few weeks old and flipped himself off the changing table, it was the craziest thing. But this was even scarier. I had been up with Christian a lot at night for a few days because he was really congested and wasn't breathing very well. I thought it was just a nasty cold, and the suctioning I was doing wasn't doing much. Then, in the car one night he was fussing for a few minutes and then all of a sudden I couldn't hear him anymore. Often that means he has gone to sleep but this time I just 'felt' that it was different and that I needed to stop the car and check right away. I'm so glad I listened to that feeling because he had what was termed an "ALTE" (apparent life threatening event). He was gasping for breath and went limp and unresponsive to all attempts to rouse him. I called 911 and the fire truck was there within 5 minutes. They gave him oxygen which seemed to help him a little and then we headed to the ER.

It was my first time in an ambulance. Amazingly, I felt very calm about everything. In my heart I kept praying that he would fight, and fight he did. Christian had been given a beautiful baby blessing a week prior and I knew that everything would be fine. They did tests and found that his breathing problems were due to severe congestion caused by RSV. After using the powerful wall-suctioning devices at the hospital he finally got his airways clear and was fine. They gave us CPR training and taught us the right way to really get the mucous out. Sweet Mara and Charles were a tremendous help with the kids while we were in and out of the hospital. I brought him home on Valentines day to a home full of love. Everyone was so glad to have baby Christian back. Today Elijah still remembers in his prayers to thank Heavenly Father that Christian can breathe.

A couple weeks after the event, we went back as a family to the fire station with brownies and a big sign to thank the fire fighters for what they did for us. We are so grateful for courageous men (and women!) who serve in our community. Without their help our little Christian might not have made it. We are also so grateful to all the people who reached out to us with love and support. It made such a difference.