the vent.

So the Pepper came out of the gate ready to race.  She was on the ventilator for the first 8 days and doing so well that the doctors decided to take her off Thursday, 06.02.  Once no longer intubated, she went to a cannula that was quite bulky for about 2 days then to a smaller one that looks more like a normal oxygen tube.  She continued to progress and was stepped down on the pressure that assists her breathing until she started to poop out, as they said.  She developed the habit of forgetting to breathe, one that is strongly discouraged and so by Sunday morning, 06.05, it was decided to re-intubate her and give her a chance to rest. 

We have been told not to consider this a setback due to how well she did and the fact that they shoot for 21 days to have babies off the vent for good.  It took 2 or 3 days but by Tuesday, 06.07, she was back to her feisty self, kicking and squirming.  Her current habit is to get really comfortable and just ride the vent which causes her numbers (breathing rate and pulse oxygen) to get squirrelly, but she usually rebounds on her own.  She is, already, showing quite a mind of her own, but we have no doubt that she'll pick up this whole breathing thing when the time is right.