One Month Old

It's hard to believe, but Hugh is already one month old! He is such a fun baby!

Count Your Many Blessings

We sure feel grateful to have little Hugh home! Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!
Count your many blessings; name them one by one
Count your many blessings; see what God hath done.
- Johnson Oatman

Homeward Bound

Our sweet baby Hugh is out of the hospital and doing great! The doctors finally decided that he actually didn't have meningitis but rather the seizures were due to bleeding in his brain as a result of the difficult labor. It's was wonderful to put him in his car seat without all the wires and tubes and take him home (actually we're not quite back in Montana yet)...we've been at my parent's house for a few days before we head back. We're so grateful to you all for your prayers and concern. We just love this kid!

Little Baby Hugh

I can't get enough of this baby! He is the cutest, most wonderful baby and I LOVE him! Hugh is now in a regular crib, in his own clothes, and right next to a window with a great view in the NICU. He is doing really well and has started nursing (instead of just being fed through a feeding tube or a bottle). We were so pleased with the results of the MRI test...which at this point look like he didn't have oxygen deprevation during labor. He's being treated with antibiotics which may keep him here for a little longer.
Thanks everybody for your prayers and support!

Update on Hugh (yes, he has a name! :)

And his name is...Hugh! We named him about 12 hours after he was born, but we've been so busy that we haven't had a chance to post it yet. Several hours after Hugh was born, we were told that he had a seizure and that the hospital would be running a CT scan. He then had another seizure. Following the scan we learned that Hugh had swelling around his brain. The pediatrician decided to send Hugh to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake. Bryce flew down with Hugh on the life flight airplane in the wee hours on Sunday morning. Hugh was hooked up to all sorts of monitors and tubes and testing began to determine the cause of the seizures. He had several seizures Sunday morning and afternoon, but has currently not had any more since about 3pm Sunday.
I was able to leave the hospital Sunday afternoon and fly with my mother in law down to Salt Lake (thanks to Bryce's generous brother). By this time Hugh was stabilized, but very sleepy due to medication.
Doctors are doing their best to determine the cause of the seizures and to assess his long term prognosis. We are currently waiting for results from yesterday's EEG and today's MRI tests.
Hugh looks great and continues to make progress each day. He is SOOOOOOOO cute and all of the nurses love him. All of his vital signs and body functions are in good order. We're hoping for the best and hoping we can take our wonderful baby home soon. Thanks for your prayers and support!

It's a BOY!!!!!

Our new baby boy arrived at 1:24 pm on Saturday the 7th, 25 hours after Jamie's water unexpetedly broke. He is 8 lbs. 7.7. ounces and 21.75 inches long. The pediatrician thinks everything about him looks like Bryce expect maybe his toes. The doctors and nurses are arguing if his hair is red or brown...I'll guess we'll have a clearer picture once he gets cleaned up with a bath. His bath was delayed because he needed some special attention in the nursery after his birth to rule out some possible complications. It looks like everything is fine and we expect to all go home on Monday. He's a wonderful baby and we're so excited to finally have him here!

Butternut Squash Soup

We tried a new soup today that was so yummy...had to share.

Butternut Squash Soup
2 tsp. olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 cup carrots, peeled, and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed (or ¼ tsp. garlic powder)
2 apples, peeled, cored, and diced
1 Tbsp. curry powder
½ tsp. cumin
1 butternut squash, peeled, cored, and cubed (about 6 cups)
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup unsweetened apple juice
Salt and pepper and cinnamon, to taste
1 cup cream (optional)

Heat oil in a large pan. Add onion and carrots and sauté until soft. Add garlic and apples, ginger, curry, and cumin. Cook until ingredients are slightly soft and cooked. Add squash, chicken broth, and apple juice. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until squash is tender. Puree with a hand blender or a food processor. Add cream and cinnamon. Enjoy!

*This recipe originally came from www.dinner-recipies.suite101.com, but we modified the soup a little.