As We Are: Pierce- Party of 3

I'd like Abe to hear the story of his birth someday, and since I have a horrible memory, well to the blog I go. April 23rd, 2013 I woke up around 3 am with contractions. I was able to fall back asleep until it was time to get up for work. By the time I woke up, my contractions were much closer together but Rhett & I (in our tired, sleep deprived stupor) decided I should go to work. As I drove to work, pausing every few minutes to breathe through contractions, I thought we might have made the wrong decision. I powered through and was able to teach that morning, in between contractions. Let's just say that my students were very attentive that morning. Around 10:00 though, I was struggling so I called Rhett whose great advice was to call my mom who promptly told me to call my doctor. Long story short, my doctor sent me to eat lunch and then head to the hospital. We had a pretty relaxing day (after the epidural!). Friends and family stopped by to visit until it was time for Abe to appear. At 10:24 pm, Abe entered the world at 7 lbs 7 ounces and 21 inches long. That hair. Those eyes. We were in love. We didn't get to hold him right away because he was struggling to breathe, but the second we got our hands on him we melted. Right away, instant love. We spent the next two hours snuggling, getting pictures with the family and soaking it all in. I experienced Jesus' love all over again. I understand his love for me in a whole new way. Thank you Jesus for Abe. I couldn't get over the fact that there were 3 of us now. Now we're a party of 3.

It was only a few hours later that everything changed. Around 2:00 am, the doctors woke us up to tell us that Abe was struggling. He was breathing about 100 breaths a minute and he'd need to fly (yes, fly) to Tulsa to the NICU. Our quaint little Siloam hospital was not equipped to help our son. We immediately went to our knees. Jesus is big. He's got this. We always knew that Abe was the Lord's not ours, but this news made that more real than anything.

Around 6:00 am, Abe was flown to Tulsa in a helicopter, I was discharged and Rhett and I (along with our families) headed to Tulsa. The next 5 days were a whirlwind. Abe improved everyday getting better and better. He had more visitors and prayer warriors than we could have ever hoped for. I was overwhelmed by the support, love and encouragement we got while we were in the NICU. Thank you Jesus for community. The lobby of the NICU became the Chalker/Pierce campground for the week and of course my sweet momma knew everyone's story and everyone's baby by the time we left. On Monday April 28th, Abe was discharged and they let us go home. We made the drive (where I of course rode in the back to keep my eyes on our precious cargo) to the ranch. Just the three of us, to begin our new little life together. What a strong boy he is. We couldn't have been prouder. Thank you Jesus for Abe. What a gift he is to us.