Ash & Ace: Ace

"And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God."

-2 Chronicles 14:2

Asa, 6 years old

Asa, or "Ace", is our second miracle. Just like his brother, Asa was born prematurely as a result of Pre-eclampsia. He arrived via C-section 7 weeks early at 11:44pm on December 17, 2011, measuring 4 lbs, 4oz. and 16" long. He was due on January 31, 2012.

Because I had Pre-eclampsia with my previous pregnancy, we were half-expecting it to happen again. But as I continued along in my pregnancy longer than I did with Asher, we thought that maybe we had managed to avoid it. Unfortunately not.

Here are some maternity portraits* just about 2 weeks before I delivered. At this point my blood pressure had begun to rise but no other symptoms had surfaced.

Then on Saturday morning, December 17, I suddenly felt that terrible pain in my upper abdomen that I recognized immediately: my liver. Immediately I called Matt, who was working, and told him I needed to go to the hospital. Asher went home with Matt's parents as Matt and I checked in to the maternity ward. After a few blood tests and an ultrasound revealed the Pre-eclampsia had come on suddenly and severely, the doctor told me I'd need to deliver immediately. There wasn't even time to induce because my platelet count had dropped so low and my liver enzyme count had quadrupled in a matter of hours. A C-section it was.

I was able to carry Asa 2 weeks longer than I had been able to carry Asher, so he weighed almost twice as much. However, because I had had to deliver so suddenly, I didn't have a chance to get the steroid shots that would help develop his lungs (commonly given to moms delivering premature babies for this reason). Asher had the benefit of these shots, so even though he was born earlier, his lungs were healthier and he was only on oxygen for the first 24 hours. Asa, on the other hand, had Respiratory Distress Syndrome for the first few days and was put on the CPAP machine until his lungs were healthy enough. It was a very scary time. He had a lot of trouble breathing, made terrible grunting sounds with each breath, and Matt wasn't even allowed to touch him. I was in Intensive Care for 24 hours following my pre-eclamptic delivery and so I had no idea my baby was so sick until after the fact. Now I count my ignorance in this as a huge blessing!