Snug as a drugged bug in a rug.

Our visit with Max today was lovely, as always. He had received his sedation a couple hours before we got there, so he was nice and calm throughout our visit. He had been breathing very well through the day and we were informed that he had typically been between 22-25% oxygen, which is really awesome. If he can make it down to room air (21% oxygen) and do well on that for a bit they'll try him out on the nasal prongs - which just offers him a little oxygen with no pressure behind it. That will be one step closer to Max breathing regular, old room air all on his own.
 After we changed his diaper, took his temperature, got him fed and generally all snuggled back up we managed to get some pretty cute pictures of him peacefully dozing. We also made his standard issue, metal-barred crib a little more festive by adding some jungle decals that Deborah had bought for Max when he was born. A little stuffed dog is now hanging out in his crib with him too.
Not much more to report today. Max is adorable - but you can see that for yourself.  :)

Daddy pats me too hard!

Today was dad's turn to hold Max.  Despite Rafael being less cuddly than Brienne, and despite his bum patting making Max feel like he's on the bumpiest ride ever, they hung out together for a short while.  Max was very alert and kept staring at both mum and dad with his wonderful, deep blue eyes.  Today was another one of those days where there was very little to report. Max is still getting better at breathing.  His feeds are making him less cranky (if you ignore the tube they need to insert and remove for feeding) and he's coming out of dips a lot faster than ever.  He's doing really well and his parents are super proud of him.  If he progresses at this rate, he should be onto nasal prongs (just those thin ones, like in the movies) in no time.

Max enjoys the bum patting.

Brienne got to hold Max for quite some time today - about 1.5 hours.  It wasn't the regular kangaroo hold, but instead just a regular cradling of a swaddled little Maximilian in the crook of her arm. She got a bit of a hand cramp from all of the patting of his bum he was enjoying. Her super power of putting babies to sleep is well received by Maximilian who essentially passed out the entire time except for a few minutes here and there. He was stable the entire time except for the 30 seconds after his feeding tube was both inserted and removed.
He's getting better at not pulling the things out of his nose, but has taught himself to faceplant into the crib mattress in order to remove it. Maybe one day soon they can upgrade him to a lower-profile breathing apparatus, or maybe he'll learn that he still needs this tube in his nose to help him breathe and will stop pushing it out and into his eyes.
Oh yeah, we forgot to mention it.  His temperature control is so good that they've decided that the isolette was keeping him too warm, so he's in a lovely 70's era state-assigned metal-barred crib. This means he gets to wear a lot of sleepers and looks cuddly and warm in all of them.
All in all, today's visit was great and calm and he's adjusting well to his increased feeds of 32ml per meal.

Brienne likes to cry.

Brienne was crying for many parts of our visit with Max tonight. First of all, we only got into see him quite late at night as we were out of town with the extended Borger clan and got in quite late in the evening.  So, she cried at seeing him because she missed him. Daddy may have cried too, but there is no documented proof of that. Then, as he was being weighed, they took all the apparatus off of his face. This meant that, out of his entire 2 months (to the day) of life, this was the first time either one of us had seen his beautiful, chubby cheeked, big eyed face. It was quite a beautiful sight and there was nary a dry eye among his parents. Then, the rest of the time was spent hanging out with his very animated, grabby, staring awesomeness. This was one of those days where he had a lot of energy and seemed to want us around holding his little hand and patting his little bum. We were super happy to oblige.  He was breathing like a world-class breather and his episodes were really short and he bounced back rather quickly, even from his crankiest "I'm going to hold my breath until I calm down" moments. Also, he had been on his best behaviour since just before noon when they gave him his 2 month vaccine shots. We have to say that tonight was a great night to visit him as he was so very interactive and had nothing but great news to give us.

So, his weight is at 1692g (3lbs~12oz) and his length is at 39cm (15.4in). He's growing beautifully and we have to say that he's just a gorgeous little boy.

A quick little visit before leaving town.

We visited Maximilian tonight and were greeted to a diaper change and a feeding. Everything went well, and he didn't fuss all that much when we had to take him out of his cute little sleeper.  All in all, he seemed to be doing much better than a few days ago.  His "episodes" were much less drastic and he got himself out of any breathing trouble very quickly.  His only issue was that he was still trying to figure out how to deal with the extra air being pumped into his tummy.  He definitely needs to figure that out soon, otherwise they are going to have to deal with this issue using glycerin suppositories and his feral nature would definitely become known to any nurse who even thinks of trying that with him.   Overall though, he's doing great and there isn't much to report this night.

Cranky and Awesome.

Visiting the little guy today brought us more of the same, essentially. Brienne apprehensively tried to hold Maximilian and he - much as was expected - took to it poorly. He's still getting used to his new everything  and is therefore in a super cranky mood. It's as if he's saying, "Just leave me alone until I figure this all out." This is a trait he definitely gets from his father.  He gained 40g, which brings him to 1580g (3lbs8(ish)oz).  It's not that much weight gain compared to the last time, but it's not bad considering he's been doing so much more work and had decreased feeds for a few days. Also, with fewer tubes, his weigh-ins have become more accurate to his actual weight. Overall, he was energetic and breathing really well and controlling his breathing and heart rate very well even when he had minor episodes.  When we left him, he was resting comfortably and looking wonderfully chubby and serene.

The day Max let us know his true feelings about tubes...

Brienne got to hold Max today. Some days, he's really cranky and just wants to be left alone. Today was definitely one of those times. They have re-upped his feeds almost to the point he was at before and they've found no issues with his blood tests in terms of infections or any other medical problems. He's tolerating food better than the last day or so and his tummy is visibly less bloated. He's still breathing well , mostly on his own, and he's still feisty as all heck (even with the sedative). He absolutely detests the current air contraption on his nose and most of his crankiness stems from it either pulling or pushing on his cute little Brienne-nose in one way or another.  Overall, he's doing a lot better than before and we're just in a holding pattern waiting for him to get better at breathing and growing. Basically, Max is back to being a bit boring and simply hates tubes. A lot. More than anything. Ever.