Fifteen Years…

Today at 12:06pm, we got on the phone with Daddy and sang Happy Birthday to our new 15 year old.  I can hardly believe that my sweet Parker is 15!

The day he was born, he got just enough air in his lungs to give me a raspy hello cry, I got to kiss his precious face, and then they whisked him off to the NICU where he would remain for 4 days.  His lungs were not fully developed.

I had to have a c-section for Parker’s birth, so I had to remain in my bed until the anesthesia wore off, and a terrible allergic reaction to my pain meds.  Since he couldn’t come to me, I had to wait an unbearable 15 hours before I was able to be wheeled to his bed in the NICU.  I came into the NICU at 3:00 in the morning, and watched as the nurses lifted Parker out of his bed with all of his IVs and wires and monitors attached.  They brought him to me wrapped in a blanket (as best they could with all that paraphernalia), and laid him in my arms.  Parker was wide awake, and locked eyes with me immediately.  I could barely breathe, let alone speak.  I can’t describe the feeling in my heart of holding this dear, LIVE little boy, after losing his sister 16 months earlier.  He felt the same….they were the exact same weight.  Only he was breathing and looking straight at me.  The emotions were off the charts.  I talked to him softly, and I don’t even remember what I said.  I touched his face, looked at his hands, all the while looking into those darling brown eyes that were fixed on mine the entire time.  I got 15 precious minutes with him before he had to get back into his oxygen tent.  The nurses left me alone with him for that whole time.  It was some of the best 15 minutes of my life.

I asked God for this little boy, and He gave me the desire of my heart above and beyond my expectations.  He is the kindest, most sensitive boy I have ever met, and I am so thankful to be able to call him my son.

Parker Andrew, I wish you the happiest of birthdays, and I love you with all of my heart!