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

26 Weeks and Counting......

Hello All,

I had my 26 week appointment yesterday. All is well. The nurse said I had a very pretty stomach. Now that is a new one. Too bad she was not referring to a great "six pack". Oh well, you take what you can. I am measuring right where I should be at this point. His heartbeat was good. He kicked the wand when the nurse put it on my stomach. Matt felt him kick for the first time last week. That was fun. We both cried. So emotional (hormonal)! Just now I was talking to him and he kicked so hard my stomach moved! I love it! I am getting tired again. The heartburn has been AWFUL! They gave me a prescription and it has helped. I actually was able to sleep last night.

Now that my stomach is growing I have more and more people (strangers)approaching me. A man in Wal-mart told me I was very pretty. Creepy or Sweet, you choose. I think he was being nice.

I hope everyone is doing well. Keep in touch. Let me know if you are actually reading this!!!!

Till next time
Stacie

Here is what everyone has been asking for...PICTURES!

Hi Everyone,

The one thing everyone keeps asking for is pictures of the bump! I am going to add some at the end of this blog.

Matt and I had a wonderful time this past weekend in Marco Island, Florida!! As I had posted earlier, I won an award for overall performance. The best part was that three of my friends from work also won. We spent our days sunning, drinking (virgin Pina Colada's for me), going to the spa, sea shelling and of course eating! The weather was perfect. It was neat for Matt to meet all of the people I talk about all of the time. He was very impressed with everyone. I am lucky to work with such a great group of people. Matt's biggest stress the whole time was having access to a t.v. to watch the basketball games! Fortunately for all involved, he was able to watch UNC kick Louisville butt!

Baby Ryan did very well on the trip. The flight down he balled up in a ball. Not to happy with the change in air pressure. On the way back he did fine, I was miserable. We had to wait on the runway for 2 hrs. for them to fix a mechanical problem and for take off. I was tired, sunburned, cranky and swollen. Plus I had to deal with Matt being sunburned, cranky and impatient.

I am getting kicked more and more every day. Matt has not been able to feel him yet. Any day now.

I hope you enjoy the pics!