Friday evening (12/17)

We have had a big day.  We left Flora this afternoon and headed back to St. Louis.  It was a long drive.  We listened to a lot of Justin Bieber.  We arrived at the Ronald McDonald House and got all checked in.  It is a very nice place and we have a very nice and clean room. 

On the way here the doctor called to let us know that they had to put Silas back on the ventilator.  He wasn't concerned and said that it was very normal for someone Silas' age and weight to have to do.  Apparently this afternoon Silas got lazy and missed several breaths.  They were having to nudge him several times in a one hour period to remind him to breathe.  They decided that it would then be a lot easier on him to just have the ventilator for a little while longer.  The doctors and nurses were very reassuring that he was still doing very very good for how little he is and that this is a very normal step.

That was the bad news.  The good news is that I got to hold him for close to an hour tonight.  They tucked him in to my tank top and covered him with warm blankets.  It felt so good to hold my little man.  He opened his eyes and looked around a little bit.  It was hard for me to see him since he was tucked under my chin so they gave me a hand mirror so that I could see his little face.  Here are a few pictures from tonight:

I have had a few people mention that they have had a hard time locating some of his first pictures and first updates on my blog.  On the right side of the blog is an archives of all of my prior posts.  One is titled "Pictures" and that is where all of Silas' first pictures are.  Hope this helps.

Thanks again for all of your prayers!  Please keep them coming!