ASHBURN, Va. -- Stephen Bowen will finally get to hold his baby again.
The Washington Redskins defensive end said Tuesday that his son, born extremely premature two months ago, is doing well enough to move to the area.
"Just to have everybody here, finally," Bowen said. "I've been looking forward to it for the whole month. I've only seen pictures of him. My wife tells me he's changed a lot, so I'm looking forward to it."
Bowen's wife, Tiffany, gave birth to twins on June 28 in Dallas, where Bowen played five seasons for the Cowboys. The babies were "micro preemies," born at 24 weeks. One of the infants, Skyler, died 10 days later. The other, Stephen III, has remained hospitalized.
When Bowen signed as a free agent with the Redskins last month, he had to leave his family behind. Stephen III weighed 2 pounds the most recent time his father held him; the baby now weighs about 4½ pounds. Tiffany, Stephen III and the family's young daughter are expected to arrive next week.
"Some days were good; some days were bad," Bowen said. "But now he's starting to stabilize. I can't even put it into words how I'm going to feel."
Stephen III will still require hospitalization in northern Virginia, but Bowen said he hopes it's only for a couple of weeks.
"My wife's a little stressed out," he said. "She has a lot to do. Moving, shipping all our stuff out here. Trying to sell the house in Dallas. Just trying to play mom and coordinate everything. It's a lot on her plate."
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
