It's a Boy!

That was the news back on July 1, 1997, when our third and final child was born.

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Today we celebrate Dylan's 12th birthday.

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He's looking forward to attending the Young Men program in Mutual for his first time tomorrow night. He's excited that he'll be ordained a deacon on Sunday by his big brother Jacob, who holds the office of priest in church. He's thrilled that he's now old enough to participate in the weekend and week-long camp-outs, hikes, and rafting trips the older Scouts enjoy.

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It is good to be 12!
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Tonight Dylan and Jacob made themselves one last birthday cake to enjoy and share before the birthday rush is over.

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Here is their finished product. Pretty artsy! Simple, yet elegant.
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Mark was satisfied with having a son and daughter, but I felt our family wasn't yet complete.

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Five years passed and I celebrated my 42nd birthday, but it seemed that the Lord wasn't going to send us another child.

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Then just before Thanksgiving--surprise!

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This is me 5 weeks before my due date, and exactly one week before Dylan was born. You'd think I was carrying triplets!

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I had horrible swelling in the 3rd trimester. I couldn't even force my feet into flip-flops.

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On Monday, June 30, I was admitted to the hospital with severe preeclampsia and HELLP Sydrome, a rare disorder that shut down my liver.

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I received 30 units of blood platelets before they could deliver the baby to save my life. I was unconscious during the c-section, but I'm told they nearly lost me several times.

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I awoke in the ICU a day later to find that my beautiful Dylan Thomas had been born at 1:04 pm the previous day.
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Since he was born 4 weeks early, Dylan was on oxygen for 48 hours while his lungs finished maturing. Other than that, he was a healthy baby.

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In fact, he was so pretty and sweet that the nurses didn't want me to take him home! However, after we both spent 3 days in the hospital, we did take him home on the 4th of July.

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This is Dylan when he was 17 days old.

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I found out later that the nurses used my case as an example of how women can die in childbirth, when they asked pregnant patients to sign a living will!
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Our sleeping boy is 8 weeks old here.

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Dylan has had his share of tribulations. At just 4 weeks of age he developed atopic dermatitis (the worst form of excema). It was so severe it made diaper rash look like a gentle kiss. There were patches of skin so raw it was down to muscle tissue. We had to feed him a special formula that cost $20 per can.

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Since Mark and I both carry the gene, all 3 of our children have atopic dermatitis. Luckily, Jacob's is minimal and Sarah can control hers, but poor Dylan has a severe case. There is no cure; you can only hope to outgrow it.
This is Dylan and his mom on the day he was blessed in church. He was 4 months old.

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Despite the continual discomfort (which improved somewhat at 6 months), Dylan was a happy baby who adored his older siblings.

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Sarah and Jacob, of course, would knock themselves out for hours to entertain him. They were very competitive about whose turn it was to hold him or feed him.

Here he is at 5 months old.

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The atopic dermatitis, which is still a painful daily reality, was not the end of his struggles. When Dylan was 18 months old he got RSV. A small cough on Friday afternoon became an ambulance ride to the hospital on Saturday morning. Even his fingers were turning gray from the pneumonia. Dr. Paxman said Dylan was the sickest kid in a hospital full of sick kids.

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Thank goodness for priesthood blessings. Dylan recovered, but the following winter he had pneumonia 3 more times. Once they sent him home with an oxygen tank and 20 feet of tubing so he could run around the house.

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Fortunately, we discovered tincture of echinacea for children, and now he rarely even gets a cold!

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Poor little guy. When Dylan was about 2, Sarah and Jacob were fighting over him in the hall. In the process, they dropped their baby brother, who hit his head on the edge of a cabinet. He needed 3 stitches in his ear!

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This is Dylan at 8 months, being held by Great Grandma Carter.

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Even with all these trials, Dylan was a strong, active child who beat out his brother and sister in meeting developmental milestones. Both Sarah and Jacob walked at 14 months, and Dylan walked at 11 months. Or ran, I should say! Dylan was always busy, busy, busy.

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Here he is at 11 months, just before he decided it would be easier and faster to get around on his feet. He's still on the run!

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To Dylan, nothing is worse than being bored. He fills his time with biking, hiking, fishing, baseball, soccer, video games, Pokemon, and hanging out with friends.

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This was taken 4 days before Dylan's first birthday.

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Being Dylan's mom has its challenges. When he started kindergarten we discovered our previously happy boy had developed anger issues, due to the continual pain and itch and lost sleep caused by his severe rashes. We had 4 or 5 very bumpy years while he learned coping skills to deal with the ongoing discomfort.

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Conversely, Dylan has been a huge blessing in my life. He has a quick mind, an enormous caring heart, a great sense of humor, and a deeply spiritual nature. Even at age 12 he can be counted on for bear hugs, soft cheek kisses, and an occasional back massage.

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Here we have Dylan with his fire truck when he was 13 months old.

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Dylan was still 8 when I told him his dad and I were going to divorce. Rather than getting upset, he paused, then he looked into my eyes and promised, "Mom, when I'm 18 I'm going to marry you and take care of you for the rest of your life."

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That's the Dylan I'll love forever.

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Happy birthday, my precious baby boy!