Kintropy In Action

It's 4:30 a.m., and Hannah, still semi-asleep, is bawling her eyes out.  Time for some Dr. Daddy deduction:  why is Hannah upset?

The essentials: 

Her breathing seems fine.  Although her sats drop while she is on a crying-jag, they pick right back up to high 90s when she relaxes for a moment.   Need to figure out what is making her uncomfortable.

Check the likely suspects: 

Enemy number one is a wet diaper.  Quick change McGraw goes into action, and the diaper is resolved.  Hannah flips back to her side, trying to go back to sleep (our shared goal, at the moment).  I wash up, but return to find her still bawling.

Hannah has been on the humidifier all night which often a wet bed and child make.  Yep, her clothes and bed are drenched.  I drain the humidifier hose of water, change her shirt, and assemble a makeshift cover-the-wet-part-of-the-bed-with-a-clean-cloth fix.

For good measure, after listening to her breathe again and hearing some moisture rattle around, I suction her trach.  I pick her up from her bed and cuddle for a little while, singing softly.  Her crying pauses while we hug, but then the cycle begins again.  I lay her back in the bed. Hannah, now increasingly awake, is still crying.

Go for the medications:

Particularly post-surgery, I am inclined to think the stitches, gouges, and skin reactions to all-things-hospital might be a tad uncomfortable.  I deliver some Tylenol and a cold, wet pacifier.

And Hannah continues to cry.  She is also now firmly awake.

Self resolution:

The gas bubble somewhere inside her dissolves.  Hannah relaxes, looking up at me with rather wide-open, expectant eyes.  I remain firm that she stay in bed, but we begin singing through the Daddy Songbook.

Conclusion?:

By 5:00 a.m., a combination of Tylenol, gas relief, and wakefullness have returned Hannah to a content state.  I have given up on singing for a bit, allowing Laurie Berkner on tv to fill in during my interlude.  Meanwhile, Hannah is tossing pacifiers to the floor and offering hugs as bribes for new songs.  Our morning routine is firmly re-established, it seems. 

-- Dad