Talk to me...

Here is an example of the very productive conversations that have been occuring at our house for the past week. This conversation is about the parts of the body.

Lesson of the Day

Parker receives "Lessons of the Day" from his Aunt Stacey and Grandma whenever they are visiting. We decided to follow in their footsteps. Below is Parker's Lesson of the Day. He was a wonderful student and he listened intently.

This lesson is brought to you by the letter "G" and the person, Daddy.

Look What I Can Do!

Praise God!

This weekend we brought Parker to my home church in Charlotte and had him baptized. We promised to bring him up in a Christian household, making sure that God is the center of his life. My sister, Stacey, and my brother-in-law, Alan, were asked to be his Godparents. Their role is to help remind Parker the importance of faith in his everyday life. They both are already an AWESOME aunt and uncle and I know how lucky Parker is to have them in his life. It was a very special weekend for the whole family. Many family and friends came out to church on Sunday morning. Thank you to all who came to support Parker's special day.

The Perfect Blend

I have Daddy's round head and Mommy's pug nose.

I have Daddy's cute lips and his chubby little toes.

I have Mommy's long fingers...

and her big feet too.

I have Daddy's eye color, a deep ocean blue.

I have Mommy's long legs that go on for a mile.

But I have my own distinct, handsome smile.

My backside is narrow and round as can be. I have a perfectly mixed personality.

I am the perfect blend of my Mommy and my Daddy.

But inside and out I am my own special me!

This Little Piggy Went to Market...

This little piggy went to market

This little piggy stayed home

This little piggy ate roast beef

This little piggy had none

And this little piggy went

Wee Wee Wee all the way home...

And this little piggy....well, we are not sure what he did...

"Parker is cute and healthy. He has 11 fingers..."

This is the first thing I remember Aaron saying to me after arriving in the recovery room after my C-section. I thought for sure he was joking about the 11 fingers thing. Knowing Aaron, I figured he was trying to make me laugh after going through such a tough labor. After me shooting his comment down several times he said, "No I'm serious. Look." Sure enough, my son had 11 fingers, having an extra thumb on his right hand. After talking with several nurses in the recovery room, and later with Parker's pediatrician, apparently it is very common. It's a genetic autosomal mutation, called Polydactly. It happens about 1 in every 400-500 births. We had no idea where this mutation had come from, being a hereditary mutation. After a bit of conversation with our families, we discovered that it comes through Aaron's side. There is only a cousin that we know who had characteristics of this (he had a growth on his two pinkies when he was born, but neither of them contained bone or appeared as a full finger). Each child born in a family carrying this gene has a 50% chance of showing the mutation. Of all of Aaron's family members, Parker was the lucky 50%.

We made an appointment with a hand specialist to get more information about Parker's condition. After talking with the hand specialist, we came out of the appointment with the following information:

- Parker's specific mutation is called Polydactly Wassels Type II. Polydactly occurs in 1 in 400-500 births, but Wassels Type II occurs in about 1 in every 10,000 births. Wassels Type II is not related to a hereditary gene, as previously thought from information received from the hospital. It is a random genetic mutation that occurs. This means that chances of Aaron and I having another child with this syndrome is 1 in 10,000 (like it is for everyone), but the chance of Parker's children having this syndrome is 50% for every child (since he now carries the gene).

- Wassels Type II means that there is an extra bone extension and a shared tendon. The bone will be removed, but the tendon has to be reattached to Parker's "real" thumb during the surgery. This is to prevent his body thinking that he still has a thumb and to prevent continued growth of an extra digit.

- He will need to have surgery when he is a year old to correct his finger. They can't do it any earlier because it's too hard to perform surgery on such tiny hands. They could do it at 6 months if it was just bone, but because it involves the tendon, we'll need to wait.

- The recovery period is 6 weeks long. He will have a pin put in his thumb to keep it growing straight, instead of curving to the side. The doctor will put a soft cast on his hand during the recovery period.

- The doctor said he does not foresee him having to have occupational therapy or physical therapy. The surgery also should not affect his fine motor development at all.

- The surgery should last 30 minutes and is considered outpatient. Parker will have to be put under general anesthesia.

We were not in love with the doctor that we saw this past week, although he did provide us with some good information. There were a few comments made that left a bad taste in my mouth. We have been given the name of an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in pediatrics at Duke. Our friends Joye and Jeramie used this surgeon for their son Ethan and have recommended him to us. We have an appointment scheduled for November (which is far off, but a good sign that he's so good).

We love Parker just the way he is, but will do anything to help him along his way...

We'll keep you updated as we find out more information...

(I will post pictures of his 11 piggies tomorrow)

One Month Later

Well here we are, one month later. I can't believe it. I have neglected the blog, because for some odd reason, my son seemed a little bit more important! :)

A lot has happened this past month so I'm going to quickly sum it up for you here:

~ Parker was born Thursday, July 15th at 11:01 pm. He was 9 lbs. 11 oz. and 22 1/4 inches long. 95-99% in both categories. After a day of labor and three hours of pushing, Parker arrived via C-section.

~ We came home Sunday, July 18th.

~ Parker had his first doctor's appt on Tuesday, July 20th, where he had only gained 3 oz. since leaving the hospital. We were put on an every 2 hour feeding schedule round the clock. This did a number on my body, ability to sleep, and my emotions for the first two weeks. I dealt with heavy "baby blues" for the first two weeks.

~ Aaron went back to work after a week and then did a bunch of work related traveling over the next three weeks. Thank the heavens for Grandparents who helped out a ton! I couldn't have done it without them. (Thank you Grandma and Nana!)

~ Parker had his two week doctor's appt. He regained his birth weight. We were released to an every 3 hour feeding schedule. This was heavenly and a breath of fresh air for me. Parker also received his very first shot in his thigh.

~ Parker's umbilical cord fell off on Monday, August 2nd.

~ Parker's Great Aunt Gail came to visit from New York with Grandma August 6th-9th while Daddy was in Las Vegas living it up.

~ We are heading to Charlotte this weekend so that Parker can meet his Great Grandma for the first time. Wish us luck packing up a newborn for the first time. This will be an interesting challenge :) Pictures to come...

Life with a baby has been emotional, exhilarating, exhausting, challenging, special, unforgettable, a game of trial and error, and it has ultimaely shown me a unique kind of love. After making it through the frst two weeks of mommyhood (which I never thought would happen), there was definitely a turning point in my outlook on being a mom. I love my role now!! I look at Parker and realize that no matter the stresses we go through, it's all worth it for my little guy. It is amazing how dependent they are on you and the kind of bond that it forces you to create with your child. It's amazing how you can decipher every single cry and what it means, how you know just the way they want to be held to soothe them, the calming effect your heartbeat has on your child, the natural rhythms and reactions of their body to certain stimuli, and an unspeakable love between parent and child. It has only been a month and the bond between me and Parker has grown tremendously. I can't imagine how much stronger that bond will continue to grow...

Son...You are everything I thought you would be and so much more...