Essendon star Darcy Parish and wife Grace have announced the birth of their first child.
The couple revealed the pregnancy in January, one year after their wedding.
And they became a family of three on Saturday, before the due date and just as Parish nears his return to action from a calf injury.
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“Our beautiful son decided to grace us with his presence earlier than expected and we are totally smitten!” the Parishes wrote.
“Welcome to this big wide world Tommy Leo Parish, you are perfect to us in every way.”
Teammates, friends and fans celebrated the news.
Sam Draper wrote: “He is perfect!!!!”
Channel 7’s Abbey Holmes said: “Yay!! Congratulations guys. He’s pure perfection xx.”
Grace shared the first photo of the family together as a Polaroid.
“MY BOYS!” the new mum wrote.
“Thank you everyone for your beautiful messages and well wishes. We see you and appreciate you!
“Totally obsessed with our little boy.”
Parish has not played in the AFL since May 11 after being a late withdrawal from Essendon’s Round 11 clash the following week.
Scans subsequently revealed what the Bombers said was a “relatively minor” calf setback.
But he has now missed all of Essendon’s three games after their bye and is still set to miss this Friday’s clash with Adelaide.
The Dons have lost two games in a row to lose their grip on a top-four berth.