Baby Parker

Hello Friends and Family-

This is Aunt Candice...I'm starting this blog for my brother and sister-in-law, Cris and Ashley, as they prepare for the arrival of their son, Parker Aaron.

Parker will be born tomorrow, January 9, 2013.  He is a special baby, the first for Cris and Ash.  And he has an Omphalocele...that is Om-fail-o-seal.  Without getting into too much medical jargon, this is a hole in his abdominal wall where a small portion of his intestines are protruding out his "belly button".  Parker has been closely monitored over Ashley's pregnancy and last I heard, the Omphalocele was around the size of a golf ball.  Cris and Ash have been meeting with a pediatric specialist and will be having a C-section at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital.  There will be several experts attending to Parker from the time he is born and they will quickly evaluate when they will be able to operate to close up his belly and this surgery will result in him not having a belly button!!  We have already decided that we are going to tease Coop and tell him that Parker is an alien..."I mean see - he doesn't have a belly button" :)

But all kidding aside, this is a condition that needs to be bathed in prayer...for Cris and Ashley...for baby Parker...for all of our family...and for the doctors and nurses who will be caring for Parker.

So the bags are packed (and Ashley will be checking them twice when she can't sleep tonight), the nursery is stocked, there's more love already than he will ever even realize, and now we just need him to arrive!!

Stay tuned, because I will be posting updates often over the next couple of days to keep everyone up to date on Parker's birth, any surgery plans, and his progress...