just a speed bump

Well the small bump that we have encountered seems to just be a small speed bump. We are "passed" it for now. I went to Dr. High Risk yesteray and he didn't seem too concerned with the high blood pressure. He checked Brooke and said "big baby" a few times and that she looked "excellent" and that the cord flow was "wonderful" and so I am good to go!!! She is "well over 2 lbs!!!!!" He said I am going to get "weird" in Feb (which technically is only 4 weeks away). He checked to see if I was spilling protein (NOPE), my labs from the weekend looked good to him and so.........back to work!!!! (with some restrictions).

Sounds good to me!!!

Now.........I just have to get her room all finished!!!! HURRY HURRY HURRY!!!!

Small bump in the road.....

We have encountered a small bump in the road with baby Brooke and I. At my last appt my blood pressure was on the higher side. Not bad but Dr. D just said to watch it. It had been running 130s/high 80s. Christmas Day I went to work and at about noon I went over to teh cardiovasular unit to have a nurse check it for me and she said it was 162/98. She told me to go home. So I did. I checked it when I got home and it was lower and after layin down for about 10 minutes it was back to normal. I decided NOT to call dr. because I was going to see him Monday anyway. Then on Saturday I went to work and wasn't really feeling well. I had taken my blood pressure monitor with me to check it and it was high (140s/90s). I called the dr on call and at first they said to just go home and lay down and in the meantime I checked it again and it was 162/100. He just told me to go up to the Child Birth Center at the hospital to get checked out. It was high when I got up there but came down fast after laying down. Matt and Jack got up there promptly and to tell you the truth....I was a little nervous!!! They hooked me up to the monitors and everything looked good. Brooke was all over the place, no contractions, and blood pressure was down to 101/50. CRAZY!! It was actually a little frustrating that it was so high and after laying down, went down so LOW! The dr came in and ordered to some labs to check my platelets, liver enzymes, etc. All that came back fast and looked great. I WAS RELIEVED!!!! He went back and forth on whether to give me a shot of steriods but we decided against it (meaning he didn't think I'd deliver in 2 weeks). He said to stay on bedrest until Monday (see Dr. D) and go from there.

Today came and I went to my appt at 4pm and I got there and they told me that Dr. D had left and wasn't coming back and he wasn't in all week. They they said I could see a NP. I told them I was NOT to see an NP per Dr. D and Dr. High Risk and then another lady said "They don't have a choice, they can see an NP or they can leave" I proceeded to call Dr. High Risk myself on my OWN phone and got a hold of him right away. I explained what was going on and he said he'd see me first thing in the morning. Let's just say I left the office with my blood pressure high. Good thing they didn't take it!!!!

So, now it's off to see Dr. High Risk tomorrow!!! Wish us luck. PLEASE NO MORE BED REST. It makes me very grumpy and sore from laying down all the time!!!!

Santa came today....at nap time!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Stayed tuned for a post on Jack vs. Spike the dino!)

Christmas at Mimi and Popsy's

We had Christmas at Mimi and Popsy's today with my sister Angie and her family. We had a great time....great food (prime rib!!!!) and good laughs. First we had to get belly shots of me. I never had belly shots with Jack...cuz I didn't have a belly so I am loving life.

25 weeks 4 days

Matt wouldn't compare bellies with me so my nephew Jacob did....BEFORE

AFTER! hahah

Jack's new CARS sleeping bag and tent

concentrating!!!

Mimi and Jack in the sleeping bag together!

Brooke's new PINK michigan blanket for Matt (that my mom made) He is so proud. I absolutely love this picture. He looks so happy!!!!

GRAPE NUTS FLAKES.....enough said!

My sister and I got necklaces that have charms for our kiddos. LOVE IT!!!!

Matt putting on my new necklace

new car/train/color table!!!

Daddy and popsy working

We hope all of you have wonderful Christmas. I have to work everyday (even the weekend) except Christmas Eve, so Santa will be coming to our house after naptime on Christmas Eve. Not exactly what I had in mind but you gotta do what you gotta do.....

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

We have surpassed the date

FINALLY I have surpassed the dreaded date of 24 weeks and 4 days!! (That's when I delievered Jack). I never thought that day would come. It was last Sunday and boy was it a long day. I made up things all day in my mind that were wrong I think. Example, she didn't move enough, my head was pounding so my bp was extremely high (which in reality it wasn't at all). BUT I survived and now we are at 25 weeks and 2 days!!!! YAY!!!! Everyday is a plus from here on out!!!

I went to the doctor on Tuesday and she looked awesome. Blood pressure was amazing (122/74) and I didn't gain any weight (which is fine)! The cord flow looked good and she measured right on time. And are you ready for her estimated weight?!?!?!



1 pound 12 ounces!!!!!!!!


She is a pound bigger than Jack was already!!!! I can't hardly believe it actually. It's so weird!!

She was moving all over the place and we could hardly get her heart rate cuz she would not be still but alas, we got it. It was 159bpm. She is head down (not that it matters since I HAVE to have a c-section)

Dr. high risk is still thinking 34-36 weeks so we are looking at having baby Brooke here in 9 weeks..........CRAZY!!!!!

That's all for now.

We are getting super excited for Christmas! Jack isn't real sure about it because he thinks he just got presents for his birthday so why are we doing more??!! He is crazy!!!!

Thanksgiving and birthday party

Here are some photos from thanksgiving at Mimi and Popsy's house along with a little birthday party there. Also, we had Jack's birthday party at our house on Saturday. It was a great time. Family and friends and yummy food. What could be better. Oh....i know what's better....our friend Bob got to come over to our house for the party. they came late so that there wasn't as many people and it was just amazing. he hasn't been able to be at our house for months! We had a great visit and Matt and him had fun playing Wii Mario. Thanks Bob and Jaime for making the trip over. I can't wait to do it again!!!

Jack had his 4 year check upS this past week. We went to riley for his pulmonologist appt on Thursday and we got a very good report. We don't have to go back for 6 months!!!! Then Friday we went to his pediatrician and also got a great report. He is 40 inches and 35lbs!! 50th% for height AND weight!!! AMAZING!!!

Baby Brooke is doing well. Lots of moving and shaking. So we are happy with that.

We hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving!!!!

Love,
The Bowling's

Jack and More Mimi coloring

Jack and Zoey...need I say more?!?!?

almost 23 weeks

I had another doctor's appointment today. ALL IS GOOD!!!! It's still a baby girl! :-) The cord flow was great. Heartrate was 149bpm and she was moving around a lot. They didn't do measurements but she should be about 1 pound. I am scheduled to see Dr. D again on the 10th and Dr. High Risk on the 14th but will probably just keep the 14th appointment. My blood pressure was PEFECTION 120/70!!!! Dr. D seemed pretty confident about how well I am doing. He said if cord flow continues to go well, we could probably do every 2 week appointments. We will see. He said he knows that I know what to watch for and of course if any problems I would be there in a heartbeat. We are reaching the point where I had Jack (24 weeks 4 days) and it's just bizarre to me. I NEVER had a belly with Jack. I NEVER looked pregnant with Jack. I LOOK pregnant with Brooke. My dad even just stares at my belly like I'm a weirdo!!! I HAVE to buy maternity clothes. I WANTED to with Jack. It's all just so completely different and I'm loving every minute of it!!!!

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY DOODLE

I cannot believe that it has been 4 years since Doodle was born. Some days it seem just like yesterday that we began our 5 month journey in the NICU and some days it seems like it has been 10 years since we went through all of that. I can't believe how far we have come in the 4 years.

Matt and Jack and I had such a great day today. We were going to have his party today and then decided that we would just make it a family day and I am so happy we did. We started with presents in the morning. (It felt like Christmas morning almost). Then he wanted to go to Spyros for breakfast and he had pancakes. They came out at the end with little strawberry shortcake and a candle and sang happy birthday. I thought he would love it because he couldn't wait to sing. At the end he started crying and I thought maybe he got embarrassed. NOPE!!! Come to find out, he was upset because there was whipped cream on his "birthday". HAHAH!!! It was quite funny! (NOTE: he doesn't like whipped cream). Then he wanted to go to Target for a prize. I am not sure he really got a prize but we did get some Christmas shopping accomplished and some baby stuff bought and he got to play with the toys there. Then it was DEFINITELY nap time. He is working on getting sick so his attitude wasn't the best today. After nap time he wanted to put Christmas lights up outside so he talked daddy into do that. Daddy really got into it last year because we actually had to go out to Big Lots and get more stuff! Daddy is usually a Scrooge!!! Then Jack wanted to go to "Shake It" (AKA Steak n' Shake). Then home we went to finish up the lights and then we drove around and looked at other peoples lights!!! When you ask him what his best part of the day was he says, "THE PANCAKES!" hahahahah!!!

Happy Birthday Jack. We love you to pieces and we are so proud of you! You are one awesome little doodle and we couldn't ask for a better little man! MUAH!!!!!

JACK'S "BIRTH"DAY!

JACK'S 1ST BIRTHDAY (with mimi)

JACK'S 2ND BIRTHDAY (with Zoey)

JACK'S 3RD BIRTHDAY

daddy putting together the train station A train station made out of legos!!!

building a tower

playing with his new legos. It felt like Christmas morning!

opening presents

Jack opening up his new garbage truck from Mimi and Popsy. He is obsessed with garbage trucks!

The leaning Christmas Tree

our new snowman and Christmas tree

You can kind of see the lights on the house. Not a very good picture

New look and New address

Well, I have decided to consolidate the 2 blogs that I was doing, into 1 FAMILY blog. It was getting to hard to keep up with both of them and so here ya go. http://thebowling4.blogspot.com. Save that to your favorites if you so choose and I will be updating with family stuff and Jack stuff and pregnancy stuff!

Everyone is doing well. I have had a cold for about a week now and I am finally feeling like it might be going away. I hope so!!! Brooke is doing great! She is a mover and a shaker, which is a lot different than with Jack. I think he was just too small for me to ever feel him move really. Brooke is now 15 ounces (Jack's birthweight) and that is so bizarre to me!!! Jack is getting more and more excited about her I think. We have started to buy more clothes and various items for her and he likes to be right in the middle of what we are picking out. He does the snuggle test on just about every blanket and every stuffed animal we buy. It's super cute!!!

Jack is doing great. He is just growing up every second of every day. This morning we were watching some cartoons together and I asked him what he was thankful for. He looked at me weird and so I asked him again. He then told me this: "Some people don't have a house mommy, and some people don't have food and snacks to eat and they have to look in the garbage can". I just wanted to cry. That was his way of saying he was thankful for his house and having food to eat. So then we got some food around later on to take to the community food harvest. He is the most adorable thing ever!!!

We have been forunate to spend some time with family and friends lately. We went to Batesville, IN a few weekends ago to celebrate my friend Jan's wedding! Jack was a stitch dancing. He won't talk to a single soul but he will be in the middle of about 15 women and dance!!! And he favorite part was eating the gravy that went with the mashed potatoes!! We also spent a really fun evening with Uncle Jim and Kim and Ian and grandma Jenny last night. We played Wii and ate yummy snacks and ordered pizza. Those are the best nights!!!

Jan and I at her wedding reception. Jan and I have been friends for a very long time. Lived next door to me growing up and we roomed together at Purdue a few different times! I miss her a lot!!!

THE INFAMOUS DOODLE

Jack and Mimi at Jan's wedding reception looking pretty silly

The cutest thing: Satori Isabelle (my niece)

Jack feeding the reindeer some goldfish

Jack cleaning up his gator