For many, Valentine's Day is a time to celebrate romantic love and affection. For Charlotte Safran and her family, it's a day to celebrate life.

It was on this day last year that she and her husband welcomed their second son, Lincoln, to the family. Lincoln, a little red-haired, brown-eyed bundle, was the perfect addition to their family, joining Robbie, who is 3.

The day after the Safrans brought Lincoln home from the hospital, his mother lay in bed with the baby in the couple's Burlington home. She was recovering from a Caesarian section and reading magazines while Lincoln slept. Her husband had just gone to the grocery store and Robbie was visiting his grandparents. Suddenly, Lincoln stopped breathing.

"He just kept getting bluer and bluer," Safran said.

Once Safran realized Lincoln wasn't breathing, she took a deep breath and told herself that she couldn't "freak out." If Lincoln was going to live, it would be because of her quick thinking.

She called 911 and told the dispatcher her baby wasn't breathing. The dispatcher walked her through infant rescue breathing techniques while Safran waited for an ambulance to arrive.

While she was a student at University of Vermont, Safran was required to take infant CPR for one of her education classes. She credits that instruction with helping her know the basics of infant lifesaving.

She gave Lincoln a number of lifesaving breaths, but he barely moved. The ambulance from Burlington Fire Department Station 2 arrived about 4 minutes after she made the call and moved Lincoln to the couch in the front room to work on him. They used a device known as an ambu bag to give him air and then carried him to the ambulance.

"Being in the ambulance, it was surreal and nightmarish. It was an awful experience, but I felt like I was in good hands," said Safran, 28.

By the time Lincoln and his mother reached Fletcher Allen Health Care, the infant was breathing. But again in the hospital, Lincoln stopped breathing. He was having seizures, and his mother said the hospital did "every test under the sun," to determine the cause. Then, as quickly as Lincoln stopped breathing, his health improved and he's now just like any a normal 1-year-old, she said.

On a recent afternoon, Lincoln awoke from a nap in a chatty mood. He gurgled and screeched as he rolled toy balls around the room. He doesn't yet know that his birthday falls on Valentine's Day.

From now on, Valentine's Day will have a whole new meaning for Charlotte and Joshua Safran. They won't be celebrating their relationship today as much as they will be celebrating their younger son's life and what it means to them.

"Lincoln's birthday has given us a renewed sense of living life to the fullest," she said.

Contact Lauren Ober at 660-1868 or lober@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com