Parker Fox Robinson

Spencer and I are so thrilled to announce the arrival of our sweet baby boy!

Parker Fox Robinson

was born on Thursday, December 29th at 0653, weighing in at 7lbs, 15.8 oz, with a length of 19.5 inches.

My sweet boy!

I have never felt so full of heart and love as I do right now!  I've had so many people tell me "you just will never know how much you can love someone as when you bring a child into the world....." At the risk of seeming cheesy, I couldn't agree more.  I just find myself staring at this sweet, tiny bundle and not wanting to do anything else but be with him!


Anyhow- a little recap.  We were so excited that my dad and both of Spencer's parents were able to be here for Parker's birth.  I went in Wednesday morning at 530am to be induced.  After, 2 rounds of Cytotec, Dr. Risinger broke my water at 630pm, and we started Pitocin at 800pm.  Long day, needless to say.  Fortunately, we had several visitors that helped us pass the time.  I did end up getting an epidural at about 1100- which made things a lot more comfortable.

My MICU friends came to visit- Kala, Jessica, & Jess

consistent late decels all night- only I would take a pic of it!

The late hours of the night were very stressful for Spencer and me, because we knew by watching my strip that Parker was having frequent and consistent late decelerations (heart rate) with most contractions.  My nurse was frequently making changes on the Pitocin, having me change positions, putting on oxygen, and trying to compensate for it.  Every time the door opened, we were anticipating that I was going to the O.R. for a C-section.  However, at 500am (the next morning), Dr. Risinger came back in, was not concerned, and gave me another hour to be ready to push.  This made all of us feel tremendously better, and for an hour and a half- all 5 of us slept (see pics!).

Spence & Debbie sharing a surface to sleep on

My Dad finally able to rest

Praise God- I only had to push a little over 10 minutes, and Parker came into the world with a vigorous cry, and very active!

Finally, he's here!  They laid him right on my chest as soon as he came out- I loved every second of it.

My Dad, Spence with Parker, and Spencer's Dad

Parker with "Sport"

Parker with "Big Daddy"

Some of our best friends, Wes & Erica, came to visit and brought Chick-fil-a

Some of our favorite people all showed up at once for a sweet visit!  Philip & Kelsea Walkley holding Parker (Memphis), Brett & Katie Sterba with J.P. (Charleston), & Collin & Meredith with Madeline (Columbia) 

Meredith with her daughter Maddie, and Parker and me.

Kelsea is one of my closest friends from college.  We were both in each other's weddings- she happened to be in town visiting family!  What perfect timing!  While I was laboring the day before- she took about 20 laps with me of walking around the unit!

Look at that head of hair!

the cleft is on his left- this profile
shot shows the less affected side

 So, as I've mentioned in previous postings, we knew after 20 weeks that he would be born with a cleft lip and palate.  The lip was exactly as we were anticipating.  It is on the left side extending up just below his left nare.  However, the palate is a lot more involved than we were expecting.  It is actually bilateral (both sides of palate) and not just a small amount on the left side.  If you take a pen light into his mouth, you can see openings on each side that go directly into the nasal passages.  Of course, this makes feeding a bit more difficult, and will require more repair than we thought.  Dr. Chen (Plastic Surgeone) came to examine him right after he was born, and said he would need at least 3 surgeries now.  Praise God, it could still be so much worse!

A good shot of the cleft lip

still an absolute doll!

However, I have to give major praise to our hospital, Palmetto Health Richland, for all of the incredible resources and consultants we met with daily during our stay.  We had awesome lactation consultants, breastfeeding consultants, and a speech therapist who gave us great information and help with feeding issues.  We felt we received excellent support!

The Haberman Feeder

The Speech Therapist showed us several different methods, and we finally decided on using a specialty bottle/nipple called the Haberman specialty nipple.  It takes a bit of practice, but Parker does GREAT with it.  Occasionally with feedings, milk does leak out of his nose and mouth, but we've figured out our own tricks and goals on what works best.  Please contact me if you have any specific questions- I'd love to give you my thoughts!

Here I am using the specialty bottle/nipple