What happened last night

Max has gone almost four weeks on the same nose-tube, either because he's lost interest in pulling it out, or because Carolyn has gotten really good at foiling his attempts with artful use of tape. We had tentatively scheduled Max's replacement nose-tube insertion for Thursday or Friday. Putting a tube up Max's nose and guiding it into his stomach is getting harder and harder, both because Max is getting stronger and because he's becoming less of a hospital-cum-orphanage baby. He's had a visit from the baby union and he knows his rights.

Last night, however, the tube gave out on us. The connector to the pump finally split apart. Carolyn pulled out the tube but didn't try replacing it. (4:00 AM is no time to be messing around with these things.) When Max pulls his tube out, we usually him a tube-free day and then replace it in the evening before his nightly feed. Today he really enjoyed his time off from the tube, getting down a personal best 220 mls PO. But then in the evening D. and Carolyn had to reinsert the tube. It was a particularly difficult procedure this time, with the tube curling out Max's mouth (instead of continuing down to his stomach) several times.

When I put Max to bed tonight I tried to tell him that if he'd just quit with the throwing up, he could go tube free all the time. I don't think he was listening though because he has fixated on babbling, which is his new bedtime hobby.

Here's a picture I took this morning of Max sporting the tube-free look: