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“Okay?” she ventured. “It was weird. But I still feel like I slept better than I have been even with all the waking up.”
“That’s great. We’ll see if your numbers agree, but I’m glad you feel good.”
Owen opened the app on his phone to check Cricket’s data from last night, and was both relieved and delighted to see a great score. Her number of episodes per hour had been super high on the initial test, and now it was in the single digits.
“Hey babygirl, look at this.”
He angled the screen so she could see it.
“Four? That’s so good, right? Because before it was sixty-something?”
“That’s awesome. We’ll have to keep checking your number in the mornings, but if it stays like this, it looks like we’ve figured this out, and you’ll be getting a great night’s sleep every night.”
* * *
Two days later, Owen went to fetch Cricket from her crib. She was really good about the rule that she wasn’t allowed to get out of her crib by herself and that she had to wait for Daddy. He’d tacked on the rule that she wasn’t allowed to fuss with her mask or her machine. If she needed him she could tell him through the monitor and he’d come. She’d just announced that she was awake and ready to get up.
When he went into the nursery, Cricket was sitting up in the crib, holding Bandit to her chest. Like the well-behaved girl she was, she still had her mask on even though he knew she didn’t care for it. She’d had a rough night the first night, better the next, and he was anxious to see how she was feeling about it today. He really hoped she’d be able to tolerate using the APAP and that they wouldn’t have to keep searching for something that was a good fit because her numbers were great but that didn't matter if she was so uncomfortable she refused to use the machine. He’d search to the ends of the earth for a solution, but he’d much prefer to spend that time loving on Cricket.
He detached the tube from the base and switched it off, and then went to unhook his babygirl’s headgear.
“Wait, Daddy, I want to show you something!”
Huh. Owen never thought Cricket would voluntarily kept her mask on for any longer than absolutely necessary but apparently he’d been wrong.
“Okay, babygirl," he said, voice tinged with curiosity. “Go ahead.”
This was far better than a few days ago when she’d been self-conscious and teary and miserable, and it made him so happy.
Cricket reached for the tubing and disconnected the smaller tube that led to her mask from the bigger tube that he’d detached from the machine, and let the small hose dangle from her face mask before swinging it back and forth.
“Look, Daddy! I’m a baby elephant!”
What a silly and sweet Little girl.
“You sure are, Cricket. You’re the cutest baby elephant I’ve ever seen, that’s for sure. And so funny and creative. Are you ready to take your mask off yet or are you having fun being a baby elephant?”
“You can take it off, Daddy.”
Owen made sure the tubing was out of the way before putting down the dropside of the crib, but then slid the panel down so he could reach his love bug more easily.
He didn’t fail to notice how Cricket swung her feet over the side of the crib and chattered at him while he removed the mask. So much better, and he was stunned by the resilience of Littles. From sobbing and miserable to making jokes in a couple of days. Remarkable.
“Also, I decided what I’m going to name her.”
“Oh yeah? What’s her name?”
He wondered how Cricket had decided her breathing machine was a girl, but he could always ask if she didn’t offer up her reasoning momentarily. He loved the way his Little girl’s brain worked.
“Well, I would only let a queen sit on my face all night, so I named her Beyoncé.”
Owen laughed so loud his neighbors could probably hear it. In the short time she’d been staying with him, Cricket had brought so much joy to his life. It’s not that he’d been miserable before but he hadn’t known he could be this happy.
“Well, we’ll have to get a crown for Queen Bey.”
“Can we, Daddy? For realsies?”
“Of course. But we need to get my Little girl some breakfast first.”
