Just a quick update. After this morning's big success with oral feeding, we were disappointed to learn that, at the 8:00 PM feeding, Max had a fairly major desat (oxygen sats briefly into the 40s) that required what sounds like a little respiratory rodeo. They suctioned out a fairly big blob of mucus, suggesting that Max is indeed aspirating some of his oral feeds. The barium study that would have confirmed this had to be cancelled because a part broke on the machine. No word on when that's going to be rescheduled. Carolyn phoned the NICU back and asked them to stop trying to bottle feed Max for at least the rest of the night.
My own theory is that Max currently can't walk and chew gum at the same time, i.e. poop and suck-swallow-breathe. This morning's success might be because Max wasn't straining at stool. Tonight, however, it was a different story, as Max continues to push out small dirty diapers, turning red etc in the process. This is why I only give him a "C-" at pooping---it still takes him a lot longer, and greater effort, than it really should.
Head circumference updated too.