Little Sweet Heart

Praise the Lord ~ Jonathan's sweet little heart looks perfect. Yes, there is a murmur, but it is your typical newborn/innocent murmur just like his big sister Abby had. The size of his heart even looked exactly as it should for his age and size.

Speaking of size, He was 21½" and weighed in at 9 lbs 15 oz - that was with no clothes on, so he's grown even since Saturday night! He was so cooperative during the Echo cardiogram. The gel was nice and warm when they put it on his chest, so he spent the first few moments mesmerized by the screen and then fell asleep.





We are widdling away at the "big stuff" until we finally narrow it down to an official diagnosis of Laryngomalacia. The Cardiologist commented on his stridor (squeaky breathing)and told me we could anticipate him sounding worse until he's about 6 months old. After that time, things will gradually get better as he becomes stronger. I guess the little guy has to do something to be heard in a house with 4 siblings :)

Awaiting Diagnosis

We just returned from Mary Bridge Hospital with our little Jonathan. As a few of you know, he has been suffering from breathing difficulties. On average, a baby typically breathes 40 times per minute. When we arrived at Mary Bridge his respiratory rate was 75-80 times per minute and that wasn't even during one of his severe episodes. There have been times I've counted near 100. Two hours later, in his deep sleep his rate less than 30. Much to my relief, his Oxygen Sats. looked great the entire time we were there.

Our brave little peanut had his first EKG tonight, followed by pulmonary x-rays. The x-rays looked great, no sign of any lung issues. His EKG was also normal, though the doctor noted a heart murmur (which is common in newborns) and said the size of Jonathan's heart is on the high side of normal. In an effort to rule out any cardiac issues, he has forwarded Jonathan's test results to a Cardiologist. We are to be in contact with him Monday morning to schedule an Echocardiogram.

There is a very good chance however, that this is exactly what we have been thinking Jonathan has - Laryngomalacia: (literally, "soft larynx") a very common condition of infancy, in which the soft, immature cartilage of the upper larynx collapses inward during inhalation, causing airway obstruction. This is a relatively benign condition that most children outgrow by 12 months of age. Again, the Dr. just wants to rule out the worst case scenarios before formally diagnosing him with Laryngomalacia.

All things considered, Jonathan is doing very well. Most babies in similar situations struggle with Failure to Thrive. Their little bodies have to work so hard to breathe that they burn up any of the calories they have consumed, which in turn keeps them from gaining any weight. Jonathan weighed in at 9 lbs 14 oz. today, granted he had on a diaper and a onesie, but even with that he's still up from the 8lbs he was at 2 weeks.

In the meantime, we just need to continue what we've already been doing - keeping him comforted (so he doesn't get too worked up), "cluster care" (doing all of his care grouped together in a short period of time - feeding, diaper & clothing changes, etc.) so that he has more time in between to just rest, tummy time or other positions to help him breathe more easily and monitoring him.

Please keep Jonathan in your prayers. We are so grateful that God knit his body together and knows every detail of what's going on inside. We would love to ask you to pray for God to grant the doctors discernment in identifying the specific cause. We would also love prayer for peace of mind, as it is unnerving watching him struggle and not having a complete diagnosis right now.

Right now Jonathan is resting (and breathing) peacefully...I think it's time for Jimmy & I to do the same. We'll keep you updated!

Hirst Family Thanksgiving

Tonight we celebrated Thanksgiving with the Hirst side of the family. The kids made Thanksgiving Trees filled with leaves describing the things they are grateful for. What a treasure to listen to them talk with Grandma about the many things they have to be thankful for. After dinner, the Dads and kids went downstairs to watch Wall-E while us ladies sat around and visited.

I'm Thankful For...

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with the Finnestad side of the family (in spite of the Seahawks performance). We are so grateful for the Finnestad's and love hanging out together as a family.

This afternoon we get to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Hirst side of the family and have started thinking about what we will be sharing tonight as we go around the table discussing what we are thankful for.

Here's what our kids are thankful for:

Abby: I am thankful for God because He made the earth and made me. I am also thankful for Jesus because He died on the cross for our sins. I am thankful for my family and for my life. I am thankful for my friends because if I didn't I would feel lonely and sad. I'm also thankful for my family that takes good care of me. Also, I'm thankful that I have birthdays because if I didn't I would still be small and 0 years old.

James: For my family because if I didn't have a family I would be lonely. I'm thankful for my friends because I get to play with them. I'm thankful for the Army because they keep us safe. I'm thankful for my life because I get to live in this beautiful world. I'm thankful for our food and our water because we would die without it. I'm also thankful for the holidays.

Josiah: I'm thankful for our Christmas tree, for Christmas and for Valentine's Day. I like to make our Christmas tree because it is so cute. I'm thankful for our teachers, our plates and our teacups. I like how shiny our teacups are. I'm thankful that our Grandma and Grandpa are in my family and for my friends and my brother.

Aliya: I like Pooh Bear. I'm thankful for Mommy and Daddy. I like Christmas tree and Mommy and Daddy and Grandma and Grandpa.

Jonathan: (the kids are helping him answer) He's thankful he was born. He's thankful for his family who loves him so much. He's thankful for his life and for milk.

Showers of Laughter

Most of the Baby Showers I've attended are full of sweet, quiet, tender moments celebrating the arrival of a precious baby. While yesterday had plenty of those moments (in fact Heather Young's beautiful devotion brought me to tears at times), it was also full of something else: Laughter. Lots of laughter!! In fact, my stomach still hurts from laughing so hard.

I can't even fathom the amount of time, thought, energy and love that was put into all of the planning...and especially into that crazy video Stephanie, Lisa, Denise, and Jennifer put together. The theme of the shower was "John Deere", with little tractor decorations all throughout the house. There were special touches all over the place - pictures of our family in little frames in various places, a photo album chronicling Jonathan's birth, they even wore John Deere shirts to celebrate!

Even the Bingo game, which Abby was thrilled to help create, was made especially for our new little bundle of joy.

Jonathan had the privilege of meeting his Great Grandma Leah for the first time too!


I felt so blessed by my dear family and friends who came to celebrate little Jonathan's life with us. Thank you SO very much to each one of you.

Playing Catch-up

Our first few weeks home with Jonathan have been a whirlwind of various events, many of which we've captured on our camera but not on our blog. Here's my attempt to play catch up.

We had our very first visitors within 2 hours of arriving home from the hospital the day after Jonathan was born...Aunt Kimberly and cousins Amanda and Elizabeth.


On Saturday the 8th, Jimmy took James to his first roller skating birthday party. The two of them had a blast skating together and James is now begging for a skating party of his own one day. The practice was good for Jimmy who then took Abby to her first roller skating party the following day after church. He even participated in a speed skate competition and came in 2nd place. Abby was so proud of her Dad. I'm just sad we didn't get pictures of either event. We're hoping to plan a family trip to the rink soon, so there may be pictures down the road.

Veteran's Day marked Jonathan's 2 week "birthday" and well child check. The Dr. said he was doing great and measured in at exactly 8 lbs and 21-1/4". While we were at his appointment, the Earnhardt's were here playing. Jonathan & I were anxious to get back to the house to join the fun.
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On Friday the 14th Daddy took the older 3 kids on a date to see High School Musical on Ice. There they met up with Aunt Stephanie, Kyra, Maya and two of their friends. The kids loved the show and can't wait to try ice skating for themselves. Now, it may be awhile before we attempt that family outing. Until then, we'll leave it to the pro's and enjoy Disney on Ice again in the future.

Showers of Blessings

Thank you so much to my awesome sister-in-law and mother-in-law, who hosted a family shower today in honor of our sweet little Jonathan.

He got to meet his Great-Grandma Strate for the first time, along with several other dear friends and family members. Thank you so much Kim and Sue!