Stethoscopes have an "off" switch

Our first full day home with Max went by in kind of a blur. The simple fact of having him home is still a constant surprise and novelty. We were nearly overwhelmed at first by the complicated medication and feeding schedule that the medical team devised to manage his reflux. Max's reflux has really flared up since we got home. At one point, we became convinced that his feeding tube was in the wrong place because when we puffed air through it, we couldn't hear the tell-tale "woosh" through a stethoscope. We stopped his feeds and meds and waited for the home-care expert nurse to come over. She showed us, among many other useful and interesting things, that stethoscopes have an "off" setting. When used properly, we found that, indeed, Max's tube was in the right place.

When I looked at the calendar today I realized Max and Ada were born exactly six months ago. They were born on one of the last warm days of the fall; Max came home on the first warm day of the spring.