Happy Birthday Seth!

I have a feeling this is going to be a book. Sorry.

I can't believe my little boy is seven today!!! Seth's birth brought an amazing thing into my life. The relationship between a mom and her son. Now don't get me wrong, I love and adore my girls and we have a special relationship as well, but let's face it they will always be their daddy's girls. And I love that for them and their daddy.

I will never forget the day that we found out we were having a boy. You see Mike had made it very clear that if the third child was not a boy than we were stopping. He didn't want to be totally out numbered in a house full of girls. So I got this book and read it from cover to cover. But even though we had bought the book and followed it's advice I still was totally shocked when the ultra sound tech said,"It's a boy!"

I had a little freak out. I mean I had two girls I knew what to do with those. I knew how to care for them and dress them and... a boy seemed out of my league. I didn't even have brothers! What had I gotten myself into.

He was due on October 14th but we were hoping for the 10th. His birthday would have been 10-10-00. But he waited till the 11th. We had a delivery room full of people. Friends and relatives I thought it was great. Lots of tears and excitement. I had had an epidural so really it went very smoothly. Until after he was born and the drug lady said as she was leaving make sure you drink lots of caffeine.

What? I thought that was a strange thing for a doctor to tell you right after you have a baby. But then I tried to sit up. And felt like someone had dropped an anvil on my head.

It was decided that I had an epidural headache. From what I understand it is when the dura sac is nicked and begins to leak spinal fluid. I was told you could do a blood patch which is where they do another epidural tube but this time fill the tube with your own blood and this patches up the hole. I was told this was very dangerous and could cause me to have all kinds of problems. The other option was to drink lots of caffeine and lots of fluid and hope it patched on it's own. I went home with the headache a day later.

Two weeks I lived with this headache. I could never put into words what this headache was like. Unique, because all you had to do was lie down and it completely disappeared, but lift your head and there was nothing you could do to make it go away. It provided all the effects of what I hear a migraine does for you. Now I think back to it and those first two weeks, they were a blur. I lost all my baby weight because I couldn't eat, but I also couldn't hold my baby unless I was laying down, as soon as I would pick my head up I felt like my brain was banging against my skull.

After two weeks Mike called the hospital back. The people in the ER freaked and said to come right in. That they should never have let me go an that i could have had a seizure! So I went back in had the blood patch, which hurt like I can't explain, but after it was over my head was instantly clear. Amazing.

After recouping from the blood patch I was able to start enjoying my new little boy. What a sweet baby!!! He was a great kid. Slept great, ate great, very happy guy. And he still is!

Today he is in second grade and loves school! He loves to learn new things, play with his friends, play video games with his dad, ride his bike, and read. One of the most unique things about him is his generous spirit. He really is so kind and loves to give things to people. He will spend all his points at church just to buy his brother a toy. For a while he opened a shop in his room,of his toys, but everything was free. I pray that God would continue to bless him and that he would always keep that generous spirit and help this world out in mighty ways.

Kristen