Courtesy Photo Jesslynn Burrone, left, and her husband Brandon Burrone hold their newborn son Parker for family Christmas pictures. The couple said they are excited to introduce their son to the tradition of celebrating Christmas.

ALPENA — After a baby is born, there are many first time experiences parents share with their child as it begins to grow, learn, and discover.

One of the most memorable firsts is a baby’s first Christmas and seeing it react to twinkling lights, joyous sounds, and saying hello to friends and family during holiday gatherings.

Jesslynn and Brandon Burrone are excited to share the tradition of Christmas with their baby, Parker, who was born on Halloween. Jesslynn said she and her husband know the infant is too young to comprehend what is transpiring around it and what the holiday means.

That won’t matter, she said, as the baby is going to be included in all of the Christmas fun and get a great deal of attention.

As the holiday nears, the Burrone family has their house decorated with lights, figurines, and stockings. Jesslynn said her son is inquizzitive with the Christmas setup.

“He likes looking at the lights and the reindeer I have set up by the tree,” she said. “We have stockings hung, with one specially decorated for him, and he likes to stare at them. We also have bells on the door and he can hear them whenever the door opens and closes.”

The baby is sure to get a lot of presents, Jesslynn said, but he’ll probably be getting gifts that are more practical and needed for his care, other than the latest and greatest baby toys.

“I told everyone not to get him toys because he is only two months old,” she said. “I asked for diapers and things like that that we use all of the time.”

Parker will be a part of several family traditions. Jesslynn said he will go to his great-grandpa’s house where Christmas is celebrated on Christmas Eve and also visit his dad’s family.

Brandon said as his son grows, he is confident more traditions will be started.

Parker was born a healthy young boy on Halloween. Jesslynn and Brandon decided due to the COVID-19 pandemic that they wanted to have the baby at home and avoid the hospital if at all possible. Jesslynn said after a few initial doctor appointments, they decided to use a midwife to handle the delivery.

“I always thought about it, but it wasn’t until I had an appointment and my husband wasn’t allowed to come into the room with me that I decided to do it,” she said. “We had to Skype for him to hear the baby’s heartbeat and I thought because it was our first baby together we needed to be together for the entire thing.”

Once labor began, Jesslynn said, it continued for 33 hours, 28 of which were at her home, before being taken to MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena where the baby was taken with a Cesarean delivery.

“I didn’t even know what day it was when I finally had him, and then the nurse told me I had a Halloween baby,” she said. “He is perfect and we are so excited to share Christmas with him.”