Looks great ...

Our son, Nathaniel Hector Correa (8 lbs, 12 oz; 21.5 inches long) was born at 6:05 p.m. Thursday. He's big and strong and beautiful.

About five hours later, we found out he has a serious heart defect that keeps oxygenated blood from circulating through his body properly (mostly unoxygenated blood circulates to the body; oxygenated blood makes a loop to the lungs, back to the heart, back to the lungs). This isn't a problem in the placenta, or even immediately after birth. But it is almost always fatal within a year if untreated.

He was flown from Virtua in Voorhees (which did a phenomenal job of catching the problem very quickly -- our thanks to them) to a children's cardiac center in Wilmington, Del., at 3 a.m. Friday. He's expected to have surgery within a week. After that, we're not sure what to expect.

Things look promising, certainly, but I'd rather not be talking about odds and my baby -- today or anytime soon.

I do plan to continue posting here. The plan was a dad's-eye view of birth and the first year. I didn't expect it to go like this, but anyone who's interested will still get a chance to read about his first year here.

Thanks for the support we've already received from family and friends.

PS: "Nathaniel" because we liked the traditional-sounding name that few people seem to be using. "Hector" was my father's name. He passed away in August 2004. His birthday would have been Jan. 30, which was Nathaniel's due date.