Good things and some scary, too

Sorry for being so absent lately! My dad, stepmom and little brother have been in town since Friday and we've been busy catching up and spending time together. We have had a really nice, relaxing weekend and they have been eating Elijah up! He totally loves the attention and he has done the flirty face even more than usual the past few days.





This afternoon we had a dedication for Elijah at our house. Dan's dad led it, and Elijah was a very good boy. He kept throwing flirty glances around the room at people as Dan's dad was talking. It was hard not to laugh at the cuteness. He is going to LOVE being in groups of people when he gets older. He is a complete, total ham.


Reading and driving at the same time


Hanging out in the LoveSac with Uncle Joel


Sitting on cousin Dane's lap, in between text messages to his girlfriend (Dane, not Elijah)


The boys watching baseball


Reading his new books from Grandma and Grandpa



Ok, saving the icky news for last. Early this morning at 2:00, I heard Elijah crying through the baby monitor. I listened closely and I could hear that he was having a very hard time catching a breath. We ran into his room and he was REALLY congested. Like, more congested than I have ever heard him before. Every breath was a huge struggle for him and you could just see his little chest working so hard. When we first turned on the light his lips and face were a lovely shade of blue/purple and that's when I started to panic. After we gave him a nebulizer treatment, we took him into the bathroom and turned on the shower as hot as it would go to get him to breathe in some steam. He still sounded horrible. We debated for 2.5 hours whether or not to take him to the hospital. Since things weren't seeming to get better, we headed for Children's. On the way, his disposition was improving and he was smiling and babbling. By the time we got off on the exit ramp (30 minutes later), his breathing sounded much better. I looked at Dan and said, "Ok, I don't know what to do. Maybe we should say a prayer." Dan asked that we please be led in the right direction because going to the hospital with a heart baby unecessarily is a HUGE PAIN. Lots of poking and xraying and waiting in an ER and little sleep and extra cautious doctors and nurses. But of course, if that was what he needed, we wanted him there. Dan said, "Please give us a sign!" We were almost to the hospital and I was thinking, hmmmmm I haven't seen any signs yet so maybe that means we should park and go inside. Just then, Dan said, "UHhhh, is THAT a big enough sign?" I looked ahead and there were HUGE road barriers a half a block before our turn into the hospital ramp. One sign said "Road closed" and the other said "detour." We laughed and saw that as an opportunity to go home.

Once home, he was a bit better. He has been coughing all day, which is good because he needs to get the junk out. I'm a bit worried about tonight and how he will do but we'll just have to wait and see.

Last night was a reminder to me that nothing is EVER "normal" for Elijah. A simple congested chest? Not simple. It means blue lips, concern for his heart, concern for his lungs... It's an awful feeling. His heart is "fixed," yes, but we will always always need to be on our toes.

Thanks for checking in on us. If you wouldn't mind, maybe say a little prayer that this congestion passes quickly. No more blue lips! I suddenly can't stand the color blue.