We have been greatly encouraged by Alex's feedings of late. Yesterday, he took 15 ml from a bottle, which was the first time he took that much without any trouble. Today, he took a full bottle (40 ml) three seperate times! That is on top of what Michelle is giving him. When he shows that he can take a full bottle consistently for about 48 hrs., he can come home. So, we are anticipating him coming home soon; maybe by the end of the week!

I am in the process of taking some of the video of the birth, and making it into a movie. Once I do that, I will put it on YouTube for all to see.

I am going back to work tomorrow. Although it will be nice to get back into the swing of things, it will be strange not seeing Alex during the day.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

Look closely and see if you can tell the similarity between the two different guitars pictured below.

We visited Alex twice today. This morning, heart rate slowed down momentarily, then resumed back to normal. We had been told that Alex does this several times a day, but this was the first time it had happened while we were there. So, naturally, we freaked. We know it's nothing to worry about. It usually happens while he is feeding, due to some reflux.

Tonight, he took Michelle's breast for the first time. We saw this as a major step forward for him. Not only did he take it, but he took it like an old veteran. He also took the pacifier for the first time. So, obviously, we were majorly excited! I also got to do "kangaroo care" for over an hour. This is where he lies on my bare chest, skin on skin. The purpose of this is that it puts him in a deep sleep, which helps with brain development and growth. That will help him put on weight.

I had another guitar lesson today, which was a lot of fun. I had not touched any of my guitars in the past week, so it was great to play again. I started learning Tom Petty's "Free Falling", and "Learning to Fly".

I plan on going back to work for a few hours tomorrow. It will be nice to get back into the swing of things.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

We went to visit Alex this morning, and it was great to hold him. In fact, I fell asleep while holding him. So, Michelle snapped a picture for proof. I anticipate taking many quick naps in the coming days.

He has yet to take a bottle, so he continues to be fed through a tube. When he learns to take a bottle, he should be able to come home. That will be great.

We have some friends from church who are planning to visit tonight, so that will be fun.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

Alex Michael Winn (b. 19 May, 2007)

At 10:03 P.M. Saturday night, Alex Michael Winn made his debut in this world. When Michelle was admitted to the hospital Thursday afternoon, the doctors did not know exactly how long they could keep him inside her, but they knew it would not be long. So, we felt good that he stayed as long as he did. Michelle's blodd pressure spiked once more Saturday night, so it was time for him to come out. Her BP immediately dropped to a more normal level.

We were gald to learn that all his bodily functions are working properly, although he ad some fluid in his lungs. For this, he was taken to the NICU, where he still is. The fluid is gone, but he has not yet learned to suck and swallow in rythm, so he is being fed through an IV. He will stay in the NICU until he learns this, which may be as little as a week, or as many as a few weeks. Apparently, when a baby is in the womb, it learns this sort of at the very end, and since he came 6 weeks early, he has not learned yet. But, he will. Otherwise, he is fine. Mama is doing fine, too. Dad is in freak-out mode.

It was great that so many people were able to come into town over the weekend. After everyone left last night, Michelle needed a nap, and I needed some fresh air, so while she slept, I went to a bar for a beer. I showed everyone Alex' pictures, and everyone said he was cute.

We visited Alex in the NICU this morning, and we each got to hold him. That was great. Afterward, Michelle decided to take a nap, and I came home to have some lunch and to take care of some stuff. When I got here, the house was obviously empty, and I got kind of sad. The insanity of everyone visiting was tiring but fun, and I realized I missed it. In a few minutes, I am going to run some errands, then head back to the hospital.

We really appreciate the calls, visits, and well-wishes. Thanks so much.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

Michelle was admitted to the hospital yesterday afternooon with extremely high blodd pressure. They cannot give her any medication for the blood pressure, so if it does not go down on its own, the baby will need to come out within the next couple of days. This is the scenario that the doctor anticipates.

Since we are at 33 weeks, 5 days (which is a little early), they have given the baby two steroid injections to promote the growth of his lungs. Each shot is equal to about 1 week of growth, so the idea is to get his lungs to the 36-week mark.

The phone number to the hospital room 901-516-6713. Feel free to call if you would like.

The doctor has said that she anticipates the baby coming within the next couple of days, so please keep us in your prayers.

Peace...

It's been a long time since I've rock and rolled...

Sorry to have been gone so long.

So much has been going on, I will try not to leave anything out. Actually, for the first time, I made an outline of what I am going to write in this post...LOL. Michelle thinks I am a freak. She's not the first person to share that view.

Obviously, I was glad for exams to finally get over. Whew. I had so much work to do the last couple of weeks, I thought I was gonna go insane. Anyway, it is now over.

One of the highlights of the semester was the field trip my Ecumenism class took over to Christian Brothers University on the night of our exam. Our actual "exam" was a series of three papers we wrote, so the field trip was more for fun and dialogue than anything else. The professor is a member of the Brothers of the Christian Schools religious order (abbreviated FSB), which is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. The mission of the FSB is service through education to the poor. Here in Memphis, they run the Christian Brothers University and Christian Brothers High School. There are about 20 other universities around the country under their care. The Brothers live in community at CBU, and have taken the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. So, on our field trip we spent an evening with the Brothers in their community. First, we worshiped with them in their chapel, which was really neat. That was the first English-speaking RCC mass I had ever been to, and it was great. I really enjoyed listening to the liturgy, and following the movements of the priest. After worship, we repaired to their lounge, where we relaxed and hung out for a while. Since they're Catholic, I will leave it your imagination what "hanging out in a lounge" might mean...LOL. After that, we had dinner, then we had a round-table discussion for a couple of hours. All in all, it was a super night.

My New Testament final was kind of strange, in that it was much easier than I thought it would be. Still, it was friggin' hard. My theology final was kind of strange in that I was the first person finished. That never happens. In fact, when the professor said that we were welcome to stay the entire three hours, and the one person who does each semester usually makes an "A", I remarked, "Is that a necessary condition, or just a sufficient condition? If it's sufficient, I can chill all night." He just kind of chuckled.

The day after my last exam, I woke up at my normal time, about 4:30 AM. I fixed a bowl of cereal, and watched some Sportscenter. Then I realized the absurdity of my being awake, and then went back to bed until 10:30 that morning. That felt good. We cleaned up the place a little that afternoon, since Michelle's parents and brother were coming in to town the next day.

It was nice having them in town for a while. Her dad and I installed the car seat bases in each car, we hung some pictures in the nursery, fixed the hall closet door, and replaced the door to the second bathroom (it had to come off when we got the new washer and dryer). We may have re-shingled the roof also...LOL. We went to Whole Hog Cafe for lunch to have some BBQ, and it was great as always. After lunch, we went shopping at Target. Or, I should say that the women went shopping at Target, and the men went to the golf shop next door to hit some putts on the putting green. Once we got done with that, we went to Target to find the ladies. They were almost done, so we got out of there pretty quick.

My new job at the church is going really well. Actually, it's going better than I ever could have imagined. It's a great place to be.

I enjoy reading books that challenge my views, and this week I have been reading a book called, "God is Not Good: How Religion Poisons Everything", by Christopher Hitchens. It is certainly challenging, but I am working through the author's arguments, most of which are ad hominem fallacies. Not so hard to do that.

On my sister Jessica's recommendation, I recently got the newest CD from The Strokes. I listened to it a couple of times today, and I was kind of disappointed. Mostly because they sound exactly like The Killers. The Killers is one of my favorite newer bands, but I don't need a clone. Grr. I also recently got a couple of Green Day's older CD's, "Warning" and "Dookie". Good stuff. I also bought the John Mayer Trio's "Try!", and Johnny Lang's "Turn Around". "Try!" is as good as advertised; I am glad I finally got it. I have not listened to the Lang CD yet. The impetus that motivated me to buy all this music was the fact that BMG, for reasons unbeknownst to me, is giving me all kinds of free CD's. I hadn't bought anything from them in a couple of years, but I checked my account last week and found that I was due a bunch of free music. So, I am cashing in. Cool.

Back in the spring, I noticed that when I was umpiring, I was having some trouble picking up the ball off the bat. I didn't have any problems behind the plate, just seeing the ball off the bat while working the bases. Lately, I also noticed that I have been bumping into things. So, I made an appointment with an eye doctor for earlier today. While my vision is still 20/20, I have an astigmatism, which is blurring my vision. Astigmatism is where some of the light entering the eye does not reach all the way to the back, while some of the light does. In my case, the light entering vertically is not getting all the way to where it needs to be. So, the light waves are not focused as well as they should be. The end result was a prescription for glasses and contacts. I tried a bunch to insert the contacts, but still have not gotten it figured out. After I left the doctor's office, I went shopping for some glasses.

I am kind of bummed about the whole deal, but in reality I am fortunate to have gone this long with no problems.

We have an appointment with the OB-GYN on Friday. We will get a new ultrasound, which is exciting. What is not exciting is that the baby is still breech and gives no indication that he might want to turn around. If he is still breech toward the end, we will most likely schedule a C-section. So, we will see what happens. Regardless, the due date is June 28, which is fast approaching. I am not quite into full-on freak-out mode, but I am close...LOL.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...