Matthew went back on the traditional respirator at about 1:30 this morning. He made it almost 12 hours breathing by himself, but you could tell that it was pretty exhausting for him. When we were visiting him late last night, he had a number of apneic episodes. Most of the time he started breathing again on his own, but several times we had to shake him a bit. It was a scary thing to see, but the doctors weren't concerned. It's extremely common for a preemie this young, and as long as he doesn't stop breathing for more than a minute or so, it doesn't hurt him (it's no different than holding your breath for a minute). Even if shaking him didn't restart his breathing, they could bag him and intubate him in less than a minute.
Jason, Jennifer and Matthew,
My thoughts are with you all. Thank you for taking the time (with all that you have on your minds!) to keep your friends and family (albeit distant relatives from Virginia!) up to date on what is going on there. I'll be watching the progress and have no doubt that he will grow up to be a strapping, young man someday. It happens all the time with impossibly young preemies and there is no reason that it can't happen for you too.
With love and support,
Pam