Going without a cannula (again)

Though bathtime is usually in the middle of the night, Max got a midday bath & shampoo today (for reasons that are still not clear to me) from Nurse M. This happened just before I arrived, and I was sorry to have missed it. We haven't seen Max get a bath since one time in early November. They took off Max's cannula today at noon to see how he would tolerate it. Max's nurse today seems to think that he has things too easy and that it is time for him to start experiencing new things ("peel my grapes" she said as she walked by him today). I suspect the cannula move was her idea. During my visit this afternoon from 1:30 - 5:30 p.m., he seemed to be doing well breathing on his own: no bradys, just one apnea (according to the monitor, but I was holding him and I could swear he was actually breathing), and his usual pattern of quick desats into the 80s and occasionally the high 70s. His typical sats were in the mid-90s, and his respiratory rate seemed pretty stable, with little retracting. Our phone call into the NICU tonight continues good news on the cannula-weaning front, as Max's breathing pattern continues to be pretty stable. This is the 4th effort they've made to take him off the cannula, so maybe the 4th time is the charm.

Max spent his time with me mostly sleeping, though he did wake up for some calisthenics and to receive his public (our friend Margaret stopped by for an afternoon visit). He seemed to tolerate the activity pretty well, only turning beet-red a few times. Tonight's head circumference measurement is the same as last night's (37.5 cm) and the nurse reports that his head feels good. I think a head ultrasound is scheduled for sometime this week (the last one was just before Christmas).

Max's new year's resolutions: (1) keep head circumference growth stable and hydrocephalus in check; (2) breathe better, and (3) get the ND tube out and learn to eat from a bottle.