Keeping up with William...

Back to the Blog...

2010-04-13T10:48:00.000-07:00

Wow! It has been almost an entire year since my last blog. William has kept me so busy I haven't had time to do much of anything.

Here is a glimpse of a year gone by...

William's first birthday!!!

Summer Fun 2009

St Joes, Michigan Aug 2009

First Zoo Boo at the Detroit Zoo

Fall 2009

Christmas 2009

First Snowman!!!!

Almost 1 year old!

2009-06-03T06:38:00.000-07:00

At WVU for Jackson's graduation.

William attending his first NICU reunion at St. Joe's Hospital. The theme was "Hoe Down"!

Being silly with Hunter

Spring 2009

2009-05-08T07:21:00.000-07:00

William with Kayla Grupenhoff

Who put Kayla's hat on me?!!!

March of Dimes Walk

2009-05-08T07:13:00.000-07:00

On April 26, 2009, Bill and I marched in the March of Dimes March for Babies walk in honor of William. We raised close to $1,000!!

Getting ready to go to the starting line!

Hanging out with the Hunter Mckeen gang!

William on the Hero's of Hope Poster along the walk.

Go Tigers

2009-04-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

Here we are on Opening Day for the Detroit Tigers! Mom and Dad went downtown, but William dressed for the occassion.

Final Score: Detoit 15, Texas 1

HAPPY EASTER!

2009-03-31T08:19:00.000-07:00

Easter came early at the Bowling house. William has turned into a bunny!!! We can't believe he is 8 1/2 months already! He isn't crawling yet, but loves to walk around with mommy and daddy while they hold his hands.

Easter morning with Mommy and Daddy

8 months old!

2009-03-05T07:32:00.001-08:00

William will be 8 months old next week. He is 18 lbs 8 oz. and has 2 top teeth making their way down. He can do the "military crawl", but isn't a fan of being on his stomach. We think he will skip crawling and start walking soon...he LOVES to stand up!

William also ate from the "big boy" highchair for the first time!

A visit from his friend, Kayla

West Virginia Feb 09

2009-02-19T10:22:00.000-08:00

We went to visit the Bowling family in West Virginia this week. William had a great time with Grandma, Grandpa, and the great-grand parents. William got his bottom front teeth a few weeks ago and rolled over for the first time while we were visiting great grandma Nanny and grandpa Ben.

William is having a blast with Grandpa Bowling!

The four William Bowlings...

With Grandma

October 2008

2009-02-11T16:52:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween! William was a HOT Pepper for his first Halloween.

The Holidays 2008

2009-02-11T16:37:00.000-08:00

All dressed up for Thanksgiving.

Meeting Santa for the first time!

Christmas was very relaxing this year. Mom, Dad, and William stayed home and enjoyed some quiet time.

September 2008

2008-11-04T14:12:00.000-08:00

Well, William had his 2 month visit with Dr. Weinberg. He weighed in at 7lbs/ 14.5 oz! Not bad for a preemie.

He also had his first photo shoot...

Mommy and Daddy holding me up!

Nice and cozy in my blanket...

Chillin' out on daddy's shoulder

August 2008

2008-11-04T12:57:00.000-08:00

The rest of August was interesting. We basically spent the last couple of weeks getting used to having a baby in the house. We were very lucky because William never had colic and really only cried when he needed something(i.e. diaper change, food, love, etc.)

Week 3 and 4

2008-11-04T11:48:00.001-08:00

Week 3: William was getting stronger by the day. By day 23, he was drinking from a bottle - he drank all 60cc's!

Week 4: William continued to drink from the breast and bottle. On August 9, they removed his feeding tube and he received his circumcision. He didn't have any set backs either. In fact, the nurses said he drank a whole bottle afterwards!

August 10 - William comes home!!!!! and now...the "real" journey begins.

Week 2

2008-11-04T11:39:00.000-08:00

Week 2 was an emotional roller coaster. William had a hard time keeping in his IV's. The poor little guy was getting poked every few hours. They even tried to put in a picc line, but were unsuccessful. His TPN fluid leaked on his foot and caused severe burning. His little foot, ankle, and calve swelled up like a balloon. They were very concerned about it. Ironically...Jean, the chaplin on staff, happen to be doing rounds and she stopped to talk with Bill and I. We said a prayer for William then went to lunch while they made another attempt to put in a picc line. While we were out, they called to tell us that the picc line was in!! William wouldn't have to be poked anymore!! That made me very happy. The next day we received a call at home from one of the nurses telling us that William's foot is healing nicely. We met with the plastic surgeon later that day and he said that his foot should be "good as new"!.

At the end of the week, William was moved to the Special Care Nursery. The nurses refer to the infants in that area as "growers and feeders". Meaning, he is out of critical care and just needs to grow and learn to eat on his own. Great ending to a difficult week.

Week 1

2008-11-04T10:39:00.000-08:00

Week 1:

Day 1: William is on a vent for about an hour. He is then given oxygen through a cannula. He is tolerating the oxygen well and even had his first poop! Visitors: Mom, Dad, Aunt Amy, and Aunt Hope.

Day 2: He had his first feeding through the NG Tube (4cc) and had Kangaroo Care with mom. Vitals are great! IV came out and he was a little fussy. I got to see him suck on a pacifier for the first time. His eyes were open alot that day.
Visitors: Cousin Jo Jo, Aunt Diane & Uncle David.

Day 3: William was a little jaundice and had to be put under the bili lights. Daddy got to change the first diaper! Visitors: Aunt Gail and cousin Madeline.
I was discharged from the hospital and had to leave my baby there. It was probably the worst day in my life!!!

The rest of the week got better. William continued to thrive and also had visitors from West Virginia: Grandma & Grandpa Bowling III AND GREAT Grandma & Grandad Bowling Jr. I love this picture...Bill is doing Kangaroo Care but it looks like he had the baby did all the work!!! lol

William Arrives Early - July 13, 2008

2008-11-04T10:02:00.000-08:00

Thursday- July 10, 2008
I went for my 3D ultrasound in the morning, then went to lunch with my husband, Bill. I had experienced some mild back pain throughout the day and my doctor advised me to go to St Joseph Mercy Hospital to get checked out. Turned out I was having contractions! I wasn't dilated, so they kept me in observation and tried to get the contractions to stop. After a couple days of observation, my contractions seemed to have stopped and it looked like I was going to be discharged on bed rest ---- WRONG!!!

Right before I got the discharge papers - my water broke! Well, this meant that there no stopping baby from coming now. Labor continued throughout the night. Finally on Sunday, the doctor came in to examine me. Turns out I was fully dilated! A couple hours later...William was born:

William Rufus Bowling V
5:21 PM
4lb/4oz
17 3/4 inches

After a couple of hours, I FINALLY get to see my angel for the first time. :)