Friday, April 10, 2009

Max's many visitors

Max had a wonderful day. In addition to his many visitors (see below), physical therapist M. reported that he demonstrated a couple of key skills, such as lifting his head, at his morning PT session. True, he only picked his head up once, but, well, it's a big head and probably pretty heavy. M. has told us many times that tone flows from the head down. If Max is going to figure out how to put his brain in touch with his body, we'll see the evidence starting at the neck and then progressing downward.

Felix, Carolyn and our friend D. (aka "the baby whisperer") came to visit Max today. This is part of our continuing campaign to prepare Felix for the arrival of his little brother and, of course, to introduce Max to his big brother. As with previous visits, Max and Felix met in the neutral ground of HSC's playroom, a pleasant and airy room on a corner:
Max at HSC, with friends


Here, Max is staring at his brother and D. Notice that he is looking to his right, something that is a little more difficult for him.
Max at HSC, with friends

Felix did extremely well. He finds the HSC a friendlier place than Georgetown's NICU. And no wonder--the HSC has much better toys:
Felix on the phone

Carolyn took Felix outside to the excellent HSC playground to blow off a little energy. D. spent the time getting acquainted with Max. While Max has been evaluated by scores of medical professionals, whose judgment we value and trust, we put a lot of weight on D.'s opinion. She has worked with many children. Carolyn asked her what she made of Max. D. said that even a brief interaction was enough to point out the differences between Max and Felix. At this age, D. said, Felix was a serious child. Max, she said, was much sunnier.

Max, smiling