It's election day, so I am hoping everyone out there has voted.  In watching the returns, I am a bit concerned about the state of politics in this country!  At least some of the crackpots running have lost (Yes, Christine O'Donnell I am talking about you!).  But I digress.

I arrived at the NICU just as 3 NICU graduates stopped in for a visit.  The first was a baby who was born at 29 weeks and is now 10 months old.  He was alert, talkative and pretty darn cute.  Then, a set of twins that were born at 24 weeks showed up.  Each of these boys had PDA ligation surgery.  Now, they are big, chubby normal looking babies!  It was really gratifying to see these former NICU preemies so big and healthy looking.

After meeting the graduates, I went made my way to Sam's room to show him off to the Janine, the mom of the twins.  We lifted back the quit to discover that Sam had managed to remove his NG tube!  It was the first time since he was born that I got to see his mouth with nothing in it!

Look ma... no tube!

Sam looked so proud of what he had accomplished.  I would say he even looked smug.  What a little stinker.  Theresa and Laura had a quick chat and decided that Sam's nose was big enough that we could try putting the NG tube in through his nose as opposed to in his mouth.  I am not sure what the advantages vs disadvantages are to this move, but I can only think of advantages: 1. We get to see more of his face and 2. He can't drool the NG tube out again!  Here is what the new placement looks like:

New tube placement

Heh- this just cracked me up

Once the new tube was placed, we took Sam out for a little recreational breastfeeding/cuddle time.  Sam latched on pretty quickly this time, but didn't suck as much as he did last time.  He did get at least one good suck in at one point and then choked a little on the milk that came out.  Overall, I would say this was his second best time on the breast.

After we put him back in his isolette, the fun really began.  You see, I have a ton of preemie clothing which he is going to grow out of soon, so we played a little bit of dress up.  This was just too much fun for me (and a number of the nurses in the NICU).

Who knows what I will out him in tomorrow!  (For those wondering, apparently this is also an important developmental activity- its not *just* for my enjoyment)

And now for your moment of zen: