Pride and prejudice.

When we got into the NICU, we were told that Maximilian would not be coming out for a cuddle party today as he was exhausted. Once again, the doctors believed he was ready for an extubation.  Once again... Actually, no. For the first time, he did well without that length of plastic oppression shoved down his throat.  He was breathing without it and had a different ventilator set up around his nose. This CPAP ventilator works far differently; he breathes on his own and it gives his lungs a little extra push right at the end and that's it.  No longer does he have that silly plastic pipe getting in the way of his hands and comfort. This is a HUGE step and we have to say that we were the happiest, smiliest and downright peppiest we've been in a while. We are being cautious with all of this, of course.  Should he choose to get lazy, or should there be any major issues, he could be put back to the old ventilation method. For now though, we're riding the high of this lovely news. We could see his beautiful upper lip and we could hear him cry. It's a small, hoarse cry right now, but as his vocal cords cease being irritated, and as his lungs get used to this new lifestyle, we expect him to scream and cry like the rest of child-kind within the next while.  Today was a great day and Max is so beautiful with his chubby cheeks and his beautiful curled lips. We're proud of him.