Tuesday, January 3

Silas is still doing good.  He has had another setback though.  The valve in his heart, called the pda, that they closed last week with medicine, opened back up and caused him to have a heart murmur again.  They are giving him another three day treatment of medicine to close it.  It has to close because with it open it makes it much harder for him to breathe.  They have not put the ventilator back in but the cpap is now giving him some extra breaths.  He is not doing as much of the work himself as he was a few days ago.  Hopefully the darn thing stays closed this time so that he can keep breathing by himself.  Also, while they treat the pda, they take away feedings.  All he is getting is just what is in his iv.  It's hard to gain weight when you don't eat.  Here is a link that helps explain the pda a little better in case you're interested:  http://preemies.about.com/od/preemiehealthproblems/f/What-Is-A-Patent-Ductus-Arteriosus-Pda.htm

Other than all of that, he is doing good.  I held him for over an hour yesterday.  He was very cozy and smiled a few times while I was holding him.  He is such a sweetie...