Ok so I am doing this a little backwards but I have all the "pieces" together now to do Jason's birth story, more for him when he is older but I will share with everyone too!
Jason's birth story began on October 27th actually on the 11 year anniversary of my and Sacha's meeting. We were in Breckenridge Co. with Sacha's parents Norman and Kay, now known as Nanna and Granddad. I noticed a "metallic" taste in my mouth and was not feeling 100%. We were going to Denver that afternoon on the way back to Seattle and decided to take a pregnancy test just to see.......... well it came back as positive! I was in shock and Sacha was over-joyed! We first told Norman and Kay then called my Mother and Daddy now known as Mimi and Papa O.
When we got back to Seattle we e-mailed my Dr in Houston for a referral in Seattle is he knew any and did not but did suggest I find a maternal fetal medicine clinic which I did and when I was there I found the best high risk Dr in the Pacific Northwest! (PNW) Dr Martin Walker and a wonderful Dr. John Paul Isbell, who later sadly stopped OB and I was transferred to Dr. Patrick Morell. Funny side note on this, Dr. Morell's nurse is the lady we bought our house from in December, talk about a small world!!
I was put on 2 times a day shots along with 7 other med's that I continued until I had Jason, then I had to stay on the shots of Lovenox for 6 weeks after I had him! Talk about fun???!
I started the routine of weekly Dr visits and Ultra sounds. I did have the chance to go back to Houston one time during my pregnancy to pack our house as it was sold and had the opportunity to see Dr. Robert Friedman aka Dr. F for a ultra sound.
Things progressed along and looked great! The sad note was I was not allowed to go to Colorado for Christmas, however to make up for it Mimi and Papa O came to the PNW after the new year for a week to see the new house and have a late Christmas! While they were here we had a ultrasound on Jan. 8th and low and behold at 15 weeks we found out that our little bean growing in my tummy was A BOY!
We went to lunch after and while there we picked the name Jason Logan, even though it took Daddy a while to agree on the name, he soon fell in love with it and so it began the journey of Jason Logan Dawes! Things clicked along for us, me having morning sickness and being tired all the time, Sacha enjoying his new job and loving feeling my tummy as the baby grew and he could feel him kick me!!! My tummy popped out right before Sacha's birthday and I started to show more and more, faster and faster!
In April Mimi and my brother Jon now Uncle U-U came to the PNW to visit and for my 36th!! birthday, we again went to Maternal Fetal Medicine Clinic for another ultra sound which Jon had never seen. I can tell you there was not a dry eye in the room when the baby came on the screen! Then we got to see Jason in 4-d and that was amazing! We enjoyed a nice visit and when it was time for them to go home I was very very sad but thrilled knowing the next time I would see them would be at the birth of my son!
On April 8th I had my gestational diabetes test which I failed! I was sent off for another test the next week when I was 29 weeks and again I failed that test and was told to start watching my food and taking my blood sugar 3-4 times a day!
In May things started to get more and more interesting! We found and ordered our furniture, had it come in and finished the nursery! I love the theme, Noah's Arc, lots of animals, and thanks to Nanna and Granddad beautiful furniture that they bought for us as a present for Jason!
I started my 2-3 time weekly Dr appointment's. I started what they call NST tests, Non-Stress Tests, where they have me on a bed for 20-3- minutes monitoring Jason's heart-rate and movements, it was fun to do this as I got to listen to his heart beat and feel him kick me more and more! I would every Friday follow up my NST with a ultra sound so I could see the baby too! It was great!
Then on May 18th our first scare came along. I was walking around Belleview Mall with Sacha and realized I was having contractions. I had been feeling the tensing and relaxing for hours and the pain but did not put it all together that it was Braxton Hicks. Sacha got worried and called the hospital and off we went to be hooked up to machines to see what was going on. You know it would be a holiday weekend and 10 pm on a Friday night! You guessed it false alarm! We were sent home with orders to rest and drink more water or fluids! Two days later we were at our friend house David and Tonya for their daughters 1st birthday party, I was chatting to everyone and I actually said (BIG MISTAKE!) I am ready for the pregnancy to be over, I had just 33 days or so left and was ready!!! Well you know you get what you ask for and I got it!
The following day I noticed I was swelling badly and my blood pressure was going up and up, after another Dr appointment I was told to buy a blood pressure cuff and stay off my feet as my BP was 140/104 and my feet and hands looked like blocks! And as I look back I realize this is where the real issues began!
Later that week on Friday May 30th, I met Sacha for lunch at Micro-Soft and after I was to go to MFMC (maternal Fetal Med Clinic) for a NST and growth scan, I just happened to tell Sacha the only reason I will call after the appointment is if they decide to take the baby.................... you guessed it I called.
I was having a Growth ultra sound and I knew something was not good when the Tech stopped talking to me and looked very stern!
I noticed on the screen that the size of the baby was still showing 33 weeks gestational age and I was 35 weeks 6 days........ something was not right! She left the room and 2 minutes my wonder Dr Martin Walker came in to do another Ultra sound, I asked him what was going on and by this point my voice was shaking! In his best Dr who explains everything clearly voice Dr Walker explained that I was having a baby in the next 2 days or so, that Jason had stopped growing about 3 weeks before that is why he was showing 33 weeks gestational age by his size, by best guesstimate, he was about 4 lbs 12 oz. He had been in the 50th percentile in the last growth scan and had from there starting the day after it stopped growing and went down to the 5th percentile. It is a condition called In-Utero growth retardation or IGR. I fell apart to say the least and started to cry I can not have him it is to early and he is to small! I tried to call Sacha and his cell phone was off and mine would not work in the hospital, I finally walked out of the Dr office and got my mother on the phone, in tears, I explained that I was being admitted and they were taking the baby via c-section in 2-3 days!!! Poor Mother had her very close friend with her who was visiting from Fort Worth and it was all very confusing. I finally got hold of Sacha as well and explained what was going on and how fast could he get to Evergreen Hospital? Poor Sacha had taken the bus to work that day and was having a issue finding someone who could bring him to me but as luck would have it Jeff who was a new father brought him to me, at which point I was already in the hospital and professed my love for Jeff. But I get ahead of myself!
While I was out-side and on the phone, Dr Walker was looking for me! I came back into his office and he had a wild look in his eye as he had been looking for me and thought I had left to go home as I was asking to do! All I could think of was my house was a mess and I had no bag packed, I wanted to be able to go home for 24 hours and then go to the hospital, no such luck! I was taken by the arm and escorted across the street to the hospital, the nurse was told not to leave my side until I was in a bed! Thanks Dr Walker! lol
I was taken to triage and it began! I changed into the beautiful hospital gown had a IV started (not really needed at that point but I think when you are admitted you get one regardless!) My admitting nurse was Rosia who was very sweet and took great care of me. This is where Sacha found me, on a bed getting ready for the IV, which I am proud of him about, he gets very queasy yet he stayed there and held my hand as I was stuck 2 or 3 times to get a vein! Then I was taken to my room, Room 2146 at Evergreen labor and Delivery unit. I was able to talk to my mother and found out that she was able to change her airline ticket and was going to be there the very next day!!! I was brought dinner, and settled down a bit, understanding that my condition was serious enough, my blood pressure was high and I was having Jason if I was ready or not!
There were these horrible things put on my legs to make sure my blood kept moving since I had been on blood thinner. That was the ONLY reason that they did not go in and do an emergency c-section, they had to get the medicine out of my system!
Sacha sat with me then I sent him home about 8:30 to let the dogs out and get a few things for me like Pj's, undies and toiletries. Sacha returned a few hours later, and I finally sent him home about 12 am.
The next day poor Sacha ran around getting the house ready for visitors, getting things for me and things for the baby, poor little guy, we had been ready for a bigger child and had nothing for a preemie but our friends Leslie and Lindsay took care of that for us!!! Lots of clothes and things we would need along with some goodies for me! Friday night I was told that Jason's lungs MAY not be developed enough so I was given a shot in the bottom of a steroid to make sure his lungs were ready. It was also repeated in Saturday evening! OUCH!!!
Saturday May 31st, Sacha went to Sea-Tac to pick up Mother ( and they stopped at Famous Dave’s BBQ and brought it back to the hospital, only thing was with the diabetes I was not able to eat it had to smell it though!) I had been well taken care of by my nurses and I was allowed out of bed for 30 minutes to shower and do my hair and make-up! I can tell you it is hard to sleep with leg compressions going off and my stomach strapped with a heart rate monitor and a contraction monitor, if I moved they turned off, so I was looking ragged and the shower did me a world of good! I was allowed by my nurse Jennie Turner and the on call Dr Dawn Russell to be rolled outside after my shower to get some air, it was wonderful! I was all "dolled up" when Mother arrived at the hospital and my house was "cleaned" by Sacha with love!
Sunday June 1st was just a long day, I was tested for my blood sugar, again allowed up for 30 minutes, and they were STRICT on this.
We did a lot of sitting and chatting and Mother and Sacha found out the hospital had a great grilled cheese sandwich from the hospital cafeteria and a Starbucks ( go figure) stand in the lobby, which they went to a few times! I received lots of calls to the hospital room from concerned friends and family to reassure me that all was ok and I was checked on by Dr's all day! The nurses and Dr's at the hospital were wonderful. This would be a great time to thank them all:
Karen Wells was a on call Ped Dr, Dawn Russell was the on call OB, the nurses were: Jennie Turner, Cathy Lewis ( the nurse who attended my delivery and got me prepped for surgery and also discharged us and gave Jason his first bath), Katherine was my over night nurse who was here as a visiting nurse from Georgia and left the day we were discharged, Karen Smith was a day nurse as was Amy Smith, Jessie Chacko was a RN and my favorite nurse was Amber Weisete Lilybeth Tosi was the Nurse who gave Jason his oxygen test which I will get to, and Deborah Slaman was my breast-feeding consultant who was very understanding and patient with me!
We had a "plan" for Monday morning, June 2nd to eat my rice crispies early since I was not allowed to eat after 8 am due to a 4 pm c-section, but that went out the window when Dr Morell came in at 7 am and told me I was not allowed to eat or drink anything the rest of the day. To add insult to injury, they brought me a tray of food about 30 minutes later and told me I could not eat it until they ran it past the Dr's, I could smell it and not eat it!
About 2 pm Monday I got ready for my c-section, showered, did my hair and make-up and got back into my beautiful hospital gown. I was visited by the team of Dr's and told that if Jason was under 5 lbs he would be sent to the NICU and there was a team to be in the delivery room in case they were needed, in all there were about 12 people in there for this delivery including the Anastasias Dr and Dr Wahl who assisted Dr Morell in the delivery!
At 4 pm I was ready to go, but nurse Karen came in and told me that an emergency had just gone in and I was pushed back about 15 minutes, then Dr Morell also came in and informed me the same thing!
About 4:15 they came to get me and wheel me to the OR, where I started to cry. I swear they put something in my IV to get me calm, I felt like I was having an out of body experience!!!
I was in the OR, sat on the table, hunched over and started the ordeal of the spinal, it did not go well and in all I had to be stuck 4-5 times, I was feeling EVERYTHING and kept flinching!!! When they got me numb, they laid me down fast and all I remember was hearing my CD play (Josh Groban!!!) I asked the Dr when they were going to start and they told me they had already started!! Well the flood of tears began, Mother and Sacha were in there with me, and I was feeling far more then I thought I would, not the cutting part but the pulling and pushing! Jason was wedged up in my ribs and it took both large Dr's pushing on my tummy to get him down, then they STILL had to vacuum him out. I did tell the Dr I was feeling things and they said I could have more drugs in my IV if I wanted, I declined since I wanted to remember as much as I could.
I do remember them dropping the drape and showing me Jason, I was crying and saying he is to small, he is not ready!! Thankfully Sacha and Mother were there taking pictures and Sacha took a short video of Jason when he was born, and his first cry! I remember them saying clear fluid! I was thrilled when I asked how much he weighed and they said 5 lbs 3 oz!!! My mother said (I heard it on the video) Meredith he is not that small!!! and she congratulated Sacha, he said thank you and congratulations to you too! Jason Logan was born at 4:49 pm June 2nd and was 5 lbs 3 oz 18.5 inch's long! He was perfect!!! While in there I opted to also have my tubes tied so an additional surgery, I was all sown up and the next thing I remember ( about 45 minutes after it started) I was being rolled back to my room WITH MY BABY!!! Dr Morell was weaving the bed around and I asked him what he was doing and he told me he was aiming for nurses! I told him 20 points each hit! It is funny the things you remember!
Jason scored an 8 on his first apgar test and a 9 on his next one! I was thrilled!!!
We got back to our room about 5:30 and the phone calls started! They had been calling the whole time I was in the OR! My father was the first one we called, he had been worried since it took longer then he thought it would but did not know we had been delayed! We then called Sacha's parents, my brothers Jon and Scott! The rest of our friends and family got calls the rest of the night! Jason was given his first bath as Mother Sacha and I looked on.
His blood sugar was tested and it was perfect! I was able to breast feed him for the first time!! I was a MOTHER!!! Jason was tiny, you could feel every bone in his back and the diapers were huge on him but he was healthy and never left my room! I was so so relieved!! We were all in love and I finally about an hour after he was born was able to hold my son! Tears were flowing! Sacha was the proud father, who had a smile from ear to ear! I think by the time Jason was an hour old there had been over 100 pictures taken of him!
Sacha stayed at the hospital until about 9:30 then we sent him home to take care of the dogs and Mother stayed with me. She had taken my car to the hospital and the next morning, she was able to go home when Sacha got to the hospital to shower and change. Jason was wonderful the first night, I do not think I slept much as I was awake watching him and wondering what all his little noises and squeaks meant! Mother helped me feed him and change him as I was starting to feel my c-section cut and the nurses were in the room every 2 hours to check on all of us!! Poor Mother slept on the couch bed and froze to death as we had a cold spell and it was in the 40's and she was sleeping next to the window, lucky I had a heavy blanket and the nurses brought her a warm blanket! We were treated so wonderful!
Tuesday morning the Nurses told me the wonderful news that I had to start my shots back up again! YUCK! BUT I was able to eat regular food again and loved it! No more gestational diabetes diet and real coffee! BUT THEN I stared to get a cramping feeling in my chest and arm! The trapped gas had hit! PAIN!!! There was nothing they could give me other then telling me to walk! So with a 1 day old premature baby I was wondering the halls! Sacha came back to the hospital to find me walking VERY slowly around the halls! Nothing helped! Sacha stayed with me that night! But I am getting ahead of myself. On Tuesday afternoon we had visitors Lindsay, Leslie and Tonya with her child Carly and my NST nurse Tiffany from MFMC. Dr Morell also came in to check on us! Also Jason's Ped Dr., Dr Buckley Eckert came to the hospital to meet his newest patient and give him the once over! Then I learned about the car seat test! It is HORRIBLE!
They put Jason in his car seat, and had to prop him up with blankets and he had to sit there for one hour and keep his oxygen up over 90% without dropping before he could go home! FAILED!!! They were going to try again the next day. I was not ready to go home on Tuesday but I was ready early Wednesday but had to wait until after the test! He did pass it Wednesday and at 4:30 we got ready to go home! We took some pictures and packed him up!!! I was wheeled out of the hospital and Jason was in Sacha's car, Mother and I were in my car and we were sent home!
Tears flowed, when we got home, the video was going as the new mommy carried her son into the house! It took a minute or two but I got him up the stairs to his room and just cried and cried! I showed my son his new home! Then we let the dogs sniff the baby through the dog/baby gate and they were very happy, to see me I think but they were so gentle with him though not allowed to touch him! We had a quick light dinner and off to bed we all went as I had to have Jason back at the hospital at 8 am for his first follow up appointment at the post partum office!
That is the story of Jason Logan's birth!
Next blog will be the next step and the drama that in sued!
On the way out to the island we were standing out side and Jackson pointed out the seals laying in the sun on the dingies!
We also saw the cruise ships leaving the port. it was beautiful with down-town behind them along with the Space Needle. 
