Still Here

Hello Everyone,

Sorry it has been so long. Ryan is getting so big. We barely recognize him from when he was first born. Actually, Matt's grandmother was looking at pictures the other day. The first ones were from the hospital and the last few were from the other day. She asked me who "that" baby was. Too funny. Of course she also asked me who the lady was holding the baby. (It was her). She does have early stages of dementia, so we just go along. Great-Grandmother (GG) does love holding and talking to Ryan. She talks ALOT, so we let her hold Ryan. :) He eats it up. Ryan is now smiling on his own (not just gas). He is only wearing his hip harness at night. We have an appt. this afternoon to see where we go from here. Funny story (at least I think so). The Dr. told me about a baby that had to be weaned off the harness. He would wake himself up at night, kicking his legs. I should not have laughed. My son is doing the same thing during his naps. I have figured out, if I swaddle him up real good in a blanket, he sleeps better. Who knew. Mommy hates the thing and Ryan wants to wear it all the time. Just shows how it hurt us more than it hurt him!

Our days right now are spent playing peek a boo,singing songs, going for walks and learning about the outside. He was not thrilled about the rain today. Oh Well! We have been going out and about more. My friend Dave came to visit us from DC. We took Ryan on his first restaurant visit. Matt was nervous to let him go, but no worries. He slept the entire time! You get alot of attention when you have a baby with you. Yesterday Ryan and I took my Best Friend Aimee to lunch for her birthday. Slept through that too! I know, I know, those days will come to an end!

I am adding two pictures from race day on Saturday. Daddy was excited about Ryan's racing suit. Ryan was just like "whatever", where is my bottle and pacifier. Unfortunately, JR. did not win, but at least the Busch boy did not either!

More Pictures.....

Hello Everyone,

Things are chugging along here at the Fowler house. Ryan is on a pretty good three hour schedule. He wakes up screaming his head off. I am just getting used to sleeping in 2 1/2 hour increments. Oh well! The harness for his hip is still on. They will do a ultrasound on Tues. to let us know how much longer it has to be on there. Not sure if I wrote about this before. Everything is running together at this point. His left hip is out of socket. The harness keeps his legs up to stabilize the hip. The last two visits it has been stabilized, so hopefully he will only have to wear it for a few more weeks. He is okay with it, most of the time. I HATE it. It is so hard to hold him close and cuddle. In the long run, it will be the best thing for him. I hope you enjoy the updated pictures. He has gained about 2 pounds and grown over 2 inches since birth. He loves to eat!

Stacie

So So Tired!

Hello All,

Little Ryan Matthew Fowler was born July 7th, 2008 at 9:24 am. He weighed 5 pounds 12 ounces and was 17 1/2 inches long. When we left the hospital he was 5 pds. 8 oz. and at the Dr. yesterday he had gained back 2 ounces. I hope to send pictures soon on email. I am having problems with my email and all of my email addresses have disappeared. I will work on this soon. He is doing really well. Last night was rough. He was up from 1 am until 5 am. That was brutal. He is perfect! He looks like his Dad. We did find a small problem with his hip. It may be dislocated. We will be going to a orthopedic Dr. sometime this week. This is due to him being breech and the family history. If his hip will not stay in position he will have to wear a harness for a few months. Nothing to be overly concerned about. When you catch it early, it is very easy to correct.

Here are a few pictures. I have not uploaded many.....so sleepy!

July 7, 2008.........

Hello Everyone,

We have an official delivery date......7/7/08. The past few days have been kind of crazy. I had a regular Dr. Appt. this past Thursday. I had an ultrasound to see if Ryan had turned, but he is still showing in the breech position. Also, they discovered at the appt. that my amniotic fluid had gone pretty low. Sooooooooo to make a long story (day) short, after 7 hours at the Dr. and hospital, they sent me home. On Friday, the fetal specialist told us that the baby is very healthy, but the fluid is lower than he would like. He wanted us to deliver within the next week. We met with the OB this morning and we are scheduled to go in for surgery on Monday, the 7th at 7:30 am. We have to be there at 6 am. We should be up in our room by lunch time. We are delivering at CMC-Northeast in Concord.

Wish us luck!

Stacie

Is it hot out there or is it just me?

Hello All,

Okay, it is the first of June. The first of June is usually low 80's? The last time we saw 100 degree heat at the first of June was, no lie, over 100 HUNDRED years ago!!!!! Seriously! I was so proud that I had not had swollen feet, hands, etc. Well, not anymore! My shoes barely fit on my feet! All the Dr. said was to keep out of the heat, rest and drink lots of water. No really??? Goodness!

Anyway.....We are actually doing okay. Still going to the hospital twice a week for testing and the Dr. once a week for checkups. So far so good. He is very active and they send me home everytime. Thank Goodness!

Last Sunday was my baby shower. It was hosted by my Mom, Mother-In-Law, Aimee, Debbie and Stephanie. It was wonderful having all those who love us in one room. We had a great day. We were so blessed to receive so many nice gifts. We have just about everything we need. Our friends and family have spoiled us. Below are some pictures. Check out the diaper cake (and no you do not eat it). My Mother and Father In Law made it at 6 AM the day of the party. He thought they were going to bake something.

This past Saturday we set up Ryan's room. It looks so good! Of course, I am biased. I spent just about all weekend washing, folding and putting away his clothes and blankets. Matt and I just go sit in his room and look at everything. It is getting so real. I am adding pictures of his room. Notice the little Tarheel touches. Daddy's little man, already!

Thank you to everyone who has thought of us, prayed for us and given us such wonderful gifts! This baby is so loved already. Our adventure is just beginning!














Until Next Time.....
Stacie

31 Weeks.....

Hello All,

Just to update you on all the baby madness. At my last appt. my amniotic fluid was showing in the low normal range. That has not changed. Another test has shown the blood flow through the umbilical cord is in the high/normal range. I know...uh? that is what I have been saying. At this point all is well with the baby. He is kicking and moving like he should. The dr. is having me go to the hospital twice a week for a non-stress test. They strap me up to a monitor and check his fetal movements in relation to his heart beat. I have been twice and he is fine. On Friday we are meeting with a fetal specialist for a second opionion on the fluid issue. As the Dr. tells me, they are over treating me to be on the safe side, in case either of these tests fall to the high/unnormal or low/unnormal range. Worst case scenario, we take him out early. Best case, they monitor me up until he decides to be born. Everyone around us has been great, we are on ALOT of prayer lists. Thank you for that. Matt and I pray everyday for our little man. We know he will be fine, stubborn but fine. :)

On to more positive things.....My baby shower is this coming Sunday. Very excited for that. We decided to go ahead and fix his room up. Selling the house is probably not in our near future with the market the way it is. So the next few weeks will be busy. We still have a few more baby classes to go to. We went to our first one a couple of weeks ago. Matt was a pro at diapering, CPR and swaddling the baby. Of course, it was a doll! We will let him keep his confidence!

I am getting bigger and bigger. Matt does not understand how I can keep growing! Well, we have 9 weeks to go. It is getting very uncomfortable. I literally roll out of my van. Oh yea....got a mommy-mobile. After driving the Ford Taurus for eight years, I ordered the Town and Country van. I love it! It will be so much easier with the baby....oh yea and work too! They do give it to me to work. :) Work is going great. Trying to get it all tied up in the next two months so I can take time off. That is a little stressful, but everyone is being very supportive.


Please keep us in your prayers. God gave us this little miracle and we are already so proud of him. He is strong and will get through this.

Until next time....

Stacie

29 Weeks

Hello Everyone,

Matt and I went yesterday to get a 3D ultrasound. If you are unfamiliar with this, it is an ultrasound that really shows the picture of the baby. You can see all of his features. Well, our child was not ready for his close up. As of right now, he is breech. His legs and feet are up over the entire front of his body, covering his face. On top of that, his hands are covering his face. Then the tech told us that my amniotic fluid was on the low normal side. They would like to have the fluid at 10 and mine is at 7/8 range. We have scheduled a follow up ultrasound in two weeks. The Dr. wants me to count his kicks. When I am sitting/resting he should give me about 10 kicks in two hours. He has NO problem with that. I left the appt. pretty worried. We went back to the Dr. this morning. She told me not to worry. The fluid could change. We will just monitor it. I will still worry, cause, well, I just will. :) He weighs a little over 2 pounds. I passed my glucose test.

So, sorry I have no pictures. He is a stubborn one. Already!

Until Next Time....

Stacie