Hold steady.

We visited Max again today at our usual time. By the time we got there his nurse had already changed his bum, so he was ready for a cuddle and some food right away. It was Rafael's day to hold him, and they settled right in - Max, with fists of chest hair - for a solid hour. Prior to taking Max out of his bed, his nurse tried to put his little hat on - the little blue hat, that you may remember from photos near the end of June that Max was swimming in. Well, instead we got to take the hat home as a keepsake, because Max had well outgrown it and it wouldn't fit on his head. He may yet end up with a Santos head to match his Santos ears.

Once Max returned to his bed after his cuddle with Dad, he needed a diaper change again - if he does one thing well, it's poop. We noticed a little bulge in his groin area, and the nurse explained that it looked as though he had developed a hernia. Now, we were assured it was nothing to worry about, as it is extremely common in preemies (especially boys) and it won't cause him any pain or discomfort. The problem will be surgically corrected either before he comes home from the hospital or afterwards, in a quick, out-patient procedure (most often kids come home the same day). The doctors prefer that the babies are a little bigger before they do this surgery, as there is really no reason to rush it.

On the breathing front, Max's ventilator setting had been switched back to AC/VG, for what seemed more of a doctor preference than necessity according to his nurse. Apart from a few dips overnight, Max himself wasn't doing any more or less work than he had been doing the day before on PSV. So, really, nothing much had changed in terms of his breathing. He's still doing a great job of taking lots of deep, steady breaths and not relying on the ventilator too much.

Otherwise, Max was just his adorable little self today. We had a great time visiting with him.