Yep, no belly button. Thanks to his omphalocele. An omphalocele happens when the intestines and sometimes other internal organs grow into the umbilical cord. They are sealed in a thin membrane. When he was born, they cut his umbilical cord with special thread then two days later they carefully tried to push in his intestines and close him up. He was only 5 pounds at birth though and pushing everything into his tiny body could have meant that it all burst open again so they didn't continue to close that up in his first surgery. Instead, we actually painted him omphalocele with a special cream and skin grew over that place. About two months later, skin had grown over his omphalocele and he had a flat, little belly.... special with no little button to collect dirt. (As a side note, when he was 15 months old, they surgically closed up that part of his abdomen).
I am sharing this special trick with you today because tomorrow, January 31 is Omphalocele Awareness Day. Omphaloceles can occur in isolation or with other birth defects. The "O" in OEIS complex stands for omphalocele. Omphaloceles can cause serious problems for babies and require many surgeries. We are so fortunate that for Isaac, his omphalocele was one of his easier defects to repair.
So today, I celebrate my little "O" warrior and all of his dear friends that are fellow warriors. They all have awesome party tricks to share with their buddies someday! I hope that they are proud of their special bellies.
