Bowen Levi Stowell

So this post is extremely late and I realized just now that I haven't blogged in over a year but better late than never, right? Bowen is actually 4 months old now but this picture was taken in his first few weeks of life. We had a rough start with this little guy. When he was just one week old, I got a nasty virus that made my milk supply go WAY down and he just wasn't getting enough to eat. At his 2 week well check, he hadn't gained a single ounce since the hospital. We were advised to start supplementing formula but just like I did with my other two, we switched completely to formula. I had switched his formula too many times and he became extremely gassy and fussy and would NOT sleep at all during the day...which made long days for me. Anyways, after many days and nights of no sleep and lots of screaming and crying, I finally found out that Bowen had acid reflux. I got him on baby Zantac and also switched him to a hypoallergenic formula and since then he has been awesome. He sleeps all through the night and is happy as a clam. He is already rolling from his tummy to his back, laughing, sleeping in his own crib, and has recently tried to hold his own bottle. He's growing up really fast.
Rewind to me at 38 weeks pregnant...I went into the hospital because I didn't feel Bowen moving around as much and I was really worried that something was wrong. I spent about an hour in a hospital bed being monitored only to be told he was just fine and that I could go home. At about 9pm that same night, I started getting pretty hard contractions. They were coming faster and harder as time went on and by 10pm I couldn't take it anymore. Jon called his mom to come and stay with Ryder and Kendra and we went to the hospital. As soon as we walked in, the nurses asked how far apart my contractions were, when I was due, and what number of child this was for me. Once I answered all their questions, they checked me and I was already at a 5. I got into a delivery room and hooked up to an epidural pretty fast. He was ready to come. The nurses checked me again and said I was a 10 and his head was literally right there, but that I couldn't push because the Dr. wasn't there yet. As soon as he came in, I pushed twice and Bowen came out. He looked JUST like Ryder did at birth. He weighed 8lbs 5oz and was 21.25 in.
The kids love him, especially Ryder. He kept thanking me for having a baby brother for him and said he was so happy Bowen was finally out. Bowen loves him too. When he sees Ryder, he just lights right up smiling and kicking. It's the cutest. Kendra loves him too but doesn't really pay much attention to him. We are so glad to have him be a part of our family and look forward to watching him continue to grow through his first year of life.