Parker Has Arrived!!!

The day has finally arrived! We are so fortunate to have so many friends and family supporting us through this important time in our lives. We love you all, and even though we haven't held him in our arms yet, I can't imagine we could love little Parker more than we do now.

In order to keep Mom, Dad, Parker & family from the additional anxiety of repeating the events of the past few days, I'll be updating our blog with with Parker's condition as things change.

During her visit to the Hospital for her 3x a week post-due appointment, the nurses at Mercy General noticed an arrhythmia in Parker's heartbeat. While it is irregular, it is not all that uncommon and most of the time can be corrected through a vaginal birth. The nurses kept her at the hospital to monitor the baby, and induced labor later that night. After 24 hrs of labor and 3 hours of pushing, Parker was close, but not out yet, and mom had run out of energy.

After opting to undergo a c-section, Parker's heart rate suddenly dropped, and was rushed to the OR for surgery. He was born at approximately 10:10PM Wednesday night. He is a very hefty 8lbs 6oz, 20.5 inch baby (which is huge if you think of how big Mom is). After his heart arrhythmia continued, and his blue color remained (blue color is true of c-section babys until they begin to breathe), he was treated with oxygen, and continued to be treated until he was rushed to the UC Davis Medical Center later that morning (3:30AM). After further testing, he was diagnosed with Transposition of the Great Arteries and immediately went into surgery for an atrial septostomy to help the mixture of blood/oxygen that the body was receiving. The septostomy went well, and arrangements have been made for surgery Tuesday afternoon.

We appreciate all the concern that has been expressed and feel very blessed to have so many great friends & family. Please keep Parker in your prayers. This will be major heart surgery, and comes with great risk, but without it, he does not have any chance of recovery.

We have felt the Holy Ghost very strongly in our lives since his arrival, and are truly thankful to be his parents. It has been a scary few days, but at the same time, welcoming him to this world has been one of the greatest blessings of our lives.

Love,
Sheena & Trevor

Pictures and video of Parker can be found here.