Sadbh’s update – November 30th 2013

Danielle worked an hour later this morning and Sadbh was still sleeping soundly when she left at 7. I was fully expecting her to wake up shortly afterwards but she slept in until 8. She must have been exhausted.

Su Jin stopped by later in the morning to meet up with Nini but unfortunately Sadbh was a little cranky when she arrived.

Sadbh was very tired when it came time for trach care but as usual she had no desire in going to sleep. We managed to get trach care taken care of and once we were done we headed off to Green Lake. The hope was that she would either fall asleep in the car or once we got her into her stroller but Sadbh did not want to miss out on any of the fun.

She wanted to get a Christmas tree so we picked one up on the way home. Needless to say the evening was full of excitement as we got the tree set up with lights and all the decorations. Last year Sadbh smashed a few of the decorations in an attempt to help out, this year she was a much more helpful and thankfully all the decorations survived.

By bedtime Sadbh was wiped out. She has been running a slight temperature today and her heart rate is a little higher than usual. We’ve also had to suction more times today than we have in the last month.  Hopefully it is nothing serious and that she will be fine in the morning.

New photos.

Photos from November 30 2011.

Photos from November 30 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – November 29th 2013

Sadbh slept great and was up at 7 ready for action. She joined us in bed for a snuggle but soon got bored and wanted to go play downstairs.

After such a busy Thanksgiving we decided to relax and take it easy for the day. We had a lot of fun playing with Sadbh and when it came time for trach care she did us a huge favor and too her nap.

In the evening Katie and Nini went out for dinner so Sadbh and I hung out at home and ate ice cream and watched a couple episodes of Wallace and Gromit. She loved them and wanted more but it was soon bedtime.

Unfortunately, she had no desire to go to bed so it took almost an hour and a half before she finally gave in and fell asleep.

New photos.

Photos from November 29 2011.

Photos from November 29 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – November 28th 2013

I took over from Crystal at 6 this morning and she was almost out the door before I could get any information on how Sadbh’s night was. It was like trying to get blood out of a stone but soon I was able to get the details of Sadbh’s night. Typically the night nurse will provide a detailed rundown of how the night went before leaving.

Regardless, Sadbh had a good night and woke up upset shortly after 7. She really wanted Mommy and had no interest in seeing me. I was able to convince her to calm down long enough to be able to unhook her equipment so I could bring her upstairs to Mommy. From then on she had a great morning.

We were hosting Thanksgiving so it was a very busy morning around the house. Sadbh was in a very good mood and kept herself busy playing with her toys as we prepared dinner.

She put up her usual fight when it came time for trach care but eventually she calmed down and allowed us to get things done. After trach care she fell asleep so we were able to blast through the rest of the dinner preparations.

Sadbh was sad that a couple of her friends could not make dinner since they were sick. In fact we were all sad that they could not make it.

She was excited though to see Luna and Cora when they arrived.

They girls did not hesitate in getting down to some serious fun. They had so much energy and it did not run out until well after 10.

Thanksgiving is such a wonderful holiday and we are so grateful to get to spend it with great friends and to have Nin spend her first thanksgiving with us. We are also grateful for our friends and family that could not make it tonight or that were travelling.

New photos.

Photos from November 28 2011.

Photos from November 28 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – November 27th 2013

Sadbh woke up bright and early and could not wait to get upstairs to Mommy.

After a nice snuggle we headed downstairs to see if Nini was up. Nini was still fast asleep so Sadbh snuck into her room to try and wake her up. Nini must have been in a very deep sleep as it took almost ten minutes for Sadbh to finally wake her up.

As soon as Sadbh was done with breakfast we headed up to Trader Joes for a walk and it was the slowest walk ever. Sadbh took her time and she enjoyed every step of the way.

To speed things up I gave her an occasional piggyback but she thought it was funnier to block my eyes so I could not see where I was going.

Nini helped out with trach care today and she did a fantastic job. Sadbh fought us hard and when she finally gave in we were all exhausted. Unfortunately, she would not go to sleep afterwards so it make for a long tiresome day.

Surprisingly Sadbh had a fun evening and spent most of it playing with Nini.

Bedtime came easy and just before she went to bed she came running out to the kitchen, grabbed me by one of my back pockets and dragged me backwards into her bedroom while laughing her head off. When I asked her if she wanted me to snuggle her to sleep she grabbed the other pocket and dragged me out of her room. It was so funny.

Crystal, our night nurse, handed in her notice to the agency yesterday. We were looking for a replacement anyway as she is very noisy and does not seem to be fully focused on Sadbh throughout the night.

We meet with a potential candidate this even and while she seemed to be well qualified we have reservations and don’t think she will be a good match for us.

New photos.

Photos from November 27 2011.

Photos from November 27 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – November 26th 2013

Sadbh’s update – November 26th 2013

It was a good night sleep for Sadbh and she could not wait to see Nini as soon as she woke up.

Nini was fast asleep when we brought Sadbh downstairs to her room. Sadbh quietly walked up to Nini’s bed and as soon as Nini woke up Sadbh gave her a huge hug and told her that she missed her and that she loved her and she would not let go of Nini. That has to be the best wake up call ever.

For the first time in ages, Sadbh ate her breakfast without any issues. It was because Nini was sitting right across from her eating her breakfast.

As soon as they were done eating Sadbh showed Nini all her favorite toys and even showed how she does trach care on some of her dolls.

Sadbh had her appointment with Dr. Inglis today and as soon as he and his assistant Pam arrived Sadbh sang Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer to them. And she would not stop singing. She even had her dance moves down, it was hilarious.

Dr. Inglis was pleased with Sadbh’s progress and mentioned that he did not think that she was done improving. However he did express concern that he felt that Sadbh’s vocal chords might not repair on their own and we might need to consider surgical options. He also mentioned that with corrective surgery she might still have issues breathing while sleeping and might require a C-pap.

He supported our decision to stay the course in the hope that her vocal cords will self correct as we do not want to compromise her voice.

As we were scheduling our next appointment for April Sadbh started to sing to the office staff. She drew the attention of a little kid who wanted to give Sadbh a huge hug. We were caught off guard and were not able to react quick enough to stop the kid from giving Sadbh a big hug. It was very cute but our efforts to keep Sadbh from catching a cold could have been greatly compromised in the moment of cuteness. Fingers crossed she will be ok. It was very sweet all the same.

Sadbh had a great evening playing with Nini. Since she did not have a nap she got tired very early. I fell asleep on the couch next to her and was woken up by Sadbh as she gave me a big good night kiss and as she threw one of her cute blankets over me.

New photos.

Photos from November 26 2011.

Photos from November 26 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – November 25th 2013

Sadbh woke up after a good night sleep and was delighted to see Mommy sitting right there next to her.

It was a very foggy morning and Sadbh could not believe her eyes when she looked out the window and all that she could see was a wall of fog.

The fog burned off a couple of hours later and soon as we heading out for a walk through the neighborhood.

Sadbh really enjoyed being outside and especially liked tracking through Nora’s woods.

As soon as we arrived in the woods she wanted to go potty so she had her second ever nature potty experience. She was so proud of herself but I think we might need to change the name from Nora’s woods to Sadbh’s potty.

Sadbh put up a fight when it came to trach care but soon Jenna’s singing calmed her down and she allowed us to get it done without any more fuss.

She was very tired so it did not take long to get her off to sleep.

The rest of her evening was spent playing with her toys in the basement and it only got better when Mommy arrived home.

Bedtime was fairly easy tonight as Sadbh was exhausted tired.

I hope she gets a good night sleep as tomorrow is going to be a very busy and exciting day.

Nini arrives tonight for a weeks visit and tomorrow she will be there to greet Sadbh when she wakes up.

Tomorrow afternoon Sadbh has an appointment with her ENT specialist, Dr. Inglis.

New photos.

Photos from November 25 2011.

Photos from November 25 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – November 24th 2013

Sadbh slept great and woke up just before 7 with a huge grin on her face. She could not wait to get her Snoopie dogs but she had to wait since they were still in the dryer.

After unhooking all her equipment we headed upstairs to Mommy and once Sadbh had a nice snuggle we got ready for the day.

Sadbh had a play date with Grace and she could not wait for her to arrive. We had a play date planned for a few weeks ago but unfortunately Grace came down with a cold so we had to reschedule.

As Katie and I were getting the house tidied for our guests we noticed Sadbh pretending to breast feed one of her Snoopie dolls. It was hilarious to watch but also very cute.

All morning Sadbh kept saying, “Grace is here, Grace is here” and when Grace finally arrived Sadbh almost ripped the door off it’s hinges.

As usual the two girls were fairly quiet for the first while but soon they were having a great time. Sadbh even showed Grace how to perform trach care on her dolls.

The girls had a great time together and Sadbh was sad to see Grace and her parents leave.

By now Sadbh was running on fumes so we got her ready for trach care. It all went really well but by the time we were finished Sadbh was alert and wide-awake.

We decided to head out for a drive and it was not long before she was fast asleep in her car seat.

Sadbh only slept for an hour and woke up a very cranky little girl. Thankfully she got over it after a short while and the rest of her evening was spent playing and having fun.

New photos.

Photos from November 24 2011.

Photos from November 24 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – November 23rd 2013

Sadbh woke up shortly after Danielle left and immediately wanted to go upstairs to Mommy. I was able to convince her to hang out for an hour before she finally could not take it anymore and with that we headed up to see Mommy.

We had a very busy day planned so as soon as Sadbh was dressed, fed and ready to go we headed out.

Sadbh was in a great mood and got very excited when she realized that we were heading to the zoo.

The zoo was a lot of fun and soon Sadbh was riding the carousel. She enjoyed it so much that she had to have a second ride around.

After riding the carousel we headed too to check out the lion cubs, baby giraffe and the hippos.

Sadbh had a great time and was quite tired when it came time to leave.

Ali-Baba stopped by to help out with trach care and hang out with Sadbh. We thought Sadbh would take a nap since she was so tired but this was not going to happen. She was too excited to sleep and only wanted to play with Ali-Baba.

By 6pm, Sadbh was getting very tired. We worked hard to keep her entertained and awake as we did not want her going to sleep early.

She found a box of Mommy’s old Snoopy dogs and instantly fell in love. For the rest of the evening she was busy playing with each of the dogs and when it came time for bed she tucked them all into their bed first.

Bedtime came easy tonight and it was not long before Sadbh was fast asleep.

New photos.

Photos from November 23 2011.

Photos from November 23 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – November 22nd 2013

Sadbh slept great and woke up much earlier than usual. I’m surprised she did not wake up earlier as the nurse had the rest of us awake with all the noise she was making.

It was another sunny but very cold day. After breakfast and a nebulizer we bundled up nice and warm and headed to Nora’s Woods for a walk. Sadbh enjoyed being out in the crisp cool air and really enjoyed being chased around the woods by me pretending to be a lion.

All of a sudden Sadbh wanted to go home really quickly as she needed to take a pee. Since there was no one around I pulled Sadbh’s trousers down and she pee’d into the bushes. Her first pee in the great outdoors!

By the time we got home Sadbh was very tired. She fussed over her snack and after a while it became obvious that she would not eat so we gave her a bath and got her ready for trach care. She fell asleep quite quickly as Jenna sang Christmas carols to her.

Sadbh fussed over her food again during dinner but got very excited when Mommy gave her some olives. She stuck one on each of her fingers and then stuffed her mouth.

Sadbh was very tired and after a few bedtime stories, she quickly fell off to sleep.

Just before publishing this, I noticed that Sadbh was wearing the same dress today that she wore last year on this day.   Pretty crazy.

New photos.

Photos from November 22 2011.

Photos from November 22 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – November 21st 2013

Sadbh had another very restful night sleep and woke up just as the sun was coming up.  She was in a great mood and very eager to start her day.

She was looking forward to her play date w/ Conor and Aibhin, however, Conor wasn’t feeling well so she was disappointed when we found out we had to reschedule.

It was a busy morning because ALibaba showed up to play and Sadbh was over the moon.  They got busy with all her toys and because it was a beautiful day, they went out for a quick walk.

Alibaba helped out with trach care so I could go to the shops.  Unfortunately, Sadbh had no desire to go to sleep and she bounced around her cot for almost 2 hours. At one point, I could hear her singing over the monitor “Baby Aibhin, I love you, I love you Baby Aibhin”.  It was very cute.

We had another fun evening.  When it came to dinner time, Sadbh had a huge appetite and not only ate most of her dinner, but also ate a good bit of mine and Katie’s fish.  She could not get enough.

She was in a fantastic mood and she wanted to help Katie wash up.  So the two ladies stood in front of the sink (Sadbh standing on a chair) and did the dishes and danced to the music.  Sadbh was a big help.

Afterwards, it was time to get ready for bed.  She insisted on Katie reading a German book (Bimbo und sein Vogel) to her (in German).  Halfway through, she flipped over, said “goodnight” and snuggled up to sleep in Katie’s arms.

New photos.

Photos from November 21 2011.

Photos from November 21 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – November 20th 2013

Sadbh had a good night and woke up shortly after 7, very happy to see Mommy.

It was a sunny but very cold morning so after breakfast we bundled Sadbh up nice and warm and headed out to Nora’s Wood for a walk. At first Sadbh wanted did not want to go but after a slow start we motored on.

Along the way we spotted a lot of decomposing pumpkins and only one brave spider.

After a nice hike through the woods we headed home and got Sadbh ready for trach care.

Everything went well and as soon as we finished up Sadbh and Jenna baked cup cakes. Sadbh was happy to get messy with all the ingredients and the end result turned out very tasty indeed.

The excitement wore her out and Sadbh had a two-hour nap. She woke up in a great mood and was eager to taste one of her cup cakes. Unfortunately, at some point before going to bed Sadbh scratched up the fridge door so she had to go without a treat. I was impressed that she owned up to it but was very disappointed that she was not under tighter supervision while I was out of the house. She is two and a half after all and this is typical for a child her age.

Sadbh and I had a fun evening and got caught up on a bunch of her books. She kept bringing me German books to read and after a few failed attempts I exchanged them for English books. She does not need to hear me trying to speak German. That would scar her for life.

Bedtime came a little later than usual. She almost fell asleep with her trach cap on but woke up just as she was dozing off. It took a while longer but thankfully Sadbh was fast asleep before Crystal’s shift started.

New photos.

Photos from November 20 2011.

Photos from November 20 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – November 19th 2013

Sadbh woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. She was very cranky and wanted me to go get Mommy for her.

I managed to calm her down and after unhooking all her equipment we headed upstairs. Mommy cheered her up immediately.

It was another wet day but we bundled Sadbh up and headed out for a walk. Sadbh jumped into every puddle she came across and had so much fun. It was good to get out of the house and the short walk worked wonders in wearing Sadbh out.

Trach care went well and soon afterwards Sadbh was fast asleep.

Jenna tried to cap Sadbh’s trach around two hours in but Sadbh knew exactly what she was up to and stopped Jenna in her tracks.

We had a fun evening and we had a blast chasing each other around the house.

Sadbh was wiped out by bedtime but it took a while for her to finally fall asleep.

New photos.

Photos from November 19 2011.

Photos from November 19 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – November 18th 2013

Sadbh woke up shortly after 7 from a good night sleep. Crystal was unsuccessful in capping her trach as Sadbh was quick to pull it off with each attempt. It’s almost like she sleeps with one eye open waiting for the nurses to try and pull a quick one.

As soon as Jenna knocked on the front door Sadbh knew it was only a matter of time before Mommy left for work. She was not happy with that prospect and made it known.

Jenna and I were able to distract Sadbh and soon she was having fun and enjoying herself.

The weather was terrible so Sadbh spent the day doing arts and crafts and learning how to spell her name.

Trach care went well and later on Sadbh took a one hour nap. She woke up in an excellent mood and could not wait to get back to playing with her toys.

After dinner we all headed down to the basement and had a laugh playing with a bunch of Sadbh’s stuffed toys.

At one point Sadbh told us that her name was Quinn. She picked this new name up from a Christmas show that she recently watched on the telly.

New photos.

Photos from November 18 2011.

Photos from November 18 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – November 17th 2013

Sadbh slept until just after 7am and giggled when she looked over the edge of her cot and saw Mommy lying there sleeping.  One of the first things she said was that she wanted to go to Ali-Baba’s house.  And so the afternoon’s plans were formed. 

The morning was spent playing around the house and after trach care, we packed up and headed out.  Sadbh was delighted to arrive at Ali-Baba’s and she ran to her door with arms wide open saying “I love you!”.  Then the fun got going and soon Sadbh was jumping and doing somersaults on Ali-Baba’s bed. 

Ali-Baba even got to teach Sadbh one of her cousin’s favorite games – “Where o where can the mousie be?”.  When Katie tried to join in the fun, Sadbh said, very politely, “you please go outside?.”  It was clear that Sadbh was thoroughly enjoying her one-on-one time with Ali-Baba.

When it came time to head home, Sadbh was less than happy, but she still gave hugs and kisses to all before she left. 

I was very proud when she continued the tradition and yelled “BYE” at the top of her lungs as long as she could while we were walking down the street to our car.

Since she had not napped, she was exhausted and was fast asleep within minutes.  We woke her up when we got home, but she was still very tired for the rest of the evening.

New photos.

Photos from November 17 2011.

Photos from November 17 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – November 16th 2013

Sadbh woke up at half past seven after a restful night sleep.

As usual she could not wait to get upstairs to see Mommy and gave her a huge hug as soon as she climbed under the bed sheets with her.

Sadbh’s friend Aibhin celebrated her first birthday today and Sadbh was there to join in on the fun.

Many of her friends were there and everyone got to fuel up on yummy cupcakes and other sweet treats.

The sugar was kicking in by the time we got home and despite being very tired Sadbh really did not want to go to sleep.

We had to work hard to get her to allow us to manage trach care and afterwards she bounced around in her cot instead of going to sleep.

Katie and I had a date night tonight so Jenna took care of Sadbh until Danielle took over. Sadbh was not happy to see us leave but she was soon having a great time with Jenna as they baked cookies.

Sadbh was wiped out when it came to bedtime and was fast asleep by eight.

New photos.

Photos from November 16 2011.

Photos from November 16 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – November 15th 2013

Sadbh slept great but was up bright and early at half past five. She was determined to get us all up so she could start the day.

It was a very wet and windy day so Sadbh was house bound for the day. This did not make any difference as she enjoyed the morning getting creative and very messy with finger paints.

Trach care was fairly easy and Sadbh fell asleep just as we were finishing up. She slept for almost two hours and woke up very well rested afterwards.

Mommy was meeting up with some friends after work so I had Sadbh all to myself for the evening.

We had a grand time together playing doctor and building camps. She performed trach care on me at least five times before tipping her cup of water all over my shoulder and back.

When it came to dinner she had a huge appetite and even managed to squeeze in some ice cream at the end.

Just before bedtime she ran to her potty to have a poop. It was a joyous occasion and I told her how proud I was as I cleaned her bottom. As I was finishing up she turned and said, “good job cleaning my bottom daddy”.  

We both did well tonight.

Bedtime was not as easy as Sadbh really wanted her Mommy. She put up a serious fight but after thirty minutes she decided to cuddle up and allow me to read a few books to her. Soon she was in her cot sleeping her little head off.

New photos.

Photos from November 15 2011.

Photos from November 15 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – November 14th 2013

Sadbh slept in again this morning and woke up well rested. Crystal was unable to cap Sadbh’s trach during the night, however Sadbh still got a good night sleep.

Ali-Baba came by this morning and Sadbh could not wait for the fun and games start. They had a great time and by the time Ali-Baba left Sadbh was pooped and ready for a nap and trach care.

Trach care came easy today but Sadbh would not take a nap.

Lately Sadbh has been doing trach care on us. Today she did it for Ali-Baba, Jenna and after her nap she did it for me. It’s so funny to watch how organized she is when it comes to getting everything set up and how meticulous she is in her cleaning.

Obviously she is not as detailed as we are when we manage trach care on her, but it’s quite the spectacle all the same.

Bedtime came easy tonight as Sadbh was exhausted after her long day.

New photos.

Photos from November 14 2011.

Photos from November 14 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – November 13th 2013

Sadbh wore her trach cap for 58 minutes in one session during the night and her heart rate stayed at her normal rate for when she’s sleeping.

Eventually she got a little restless so Crystal took it off and replaced it with her trach guard.

She woke up in a great mood around half six and we headed upstairs to see Mommy.

Sadbh had a play date with Conor and Aibhín today and was so excited.

Usually the kids are a little shy when they first meet up but today they got over themselves fairly quickly and got stuck into playing with Conor and Aibhín’s toys.

It was a fun couple of hours and just before we left Conor’s nana, Marion read a book to the three kids.

Sadbh was very sad to leave and did not want to go. We promised her another play date for next week.

Trach care went well and after half an hour or so Sadbh was fast asleep.

It was good to see her get some rest and she had such a busy morning.

She woke up full of energy so the rest of the evening was spent having fun.

It took a while to get her to sleep this evening but soon she was sleeping her little head off.

Sadbh hit a new trach cap record today and including tonight she capped for a total of twelve hours and ten minutes.   Her previous record was twelve hours and 5 minutes on Oct 26, 2013.

                       

New photos.

Photos from November 13 2011.

Photos from November 13 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – November 12th 2013

Sadbh slept like a log and woke up well rested after 7. It was all systems go and Sadbh was ready for a fun day.

The weather started off bad so we were house bound for the day.

Trach care went well but Sadbh would not sleep afterwards. She bounced around in her cot for a while and about an hour later she finally fell asleep.

The rest of the evening was spent playing and reading up on some of Sadbh’s German books. She was even able to repeat some of the lines after Mommy read them out to her.

Just before bedtime she was looking at photos of my cousin’s new baby and she said “that’s my friend, wow!” Very cute.

New photos.

Photos from November 12 2011.

Photos from November 12 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – November 11th 2013

Sadbh had a very good night and woke up happy to see Mommy next to her bed.

When it came time for Mommy to go to work Sadbh was extremely upset and would not let her go. It took a great effort to calm her down and to get her back into a good mood again.

It was a lovely morning so we walked up to Capitol Hill to get the shopping. Sadbh took her time so it was a very slow walk. Regardless, it was a good walk and we all enjoyed being out in the fresh air and sunshine.

Sadbh put up her usual fight with trach care and refused to sleep afterwards. Thankfully, she was happy hanging out in her cot for a while.

We had a fun evening playing ghosts and chasing each other around the house.

At one point she did something wrong and could tell that I was not happy with her. A few minutes later she came up to me, gave me the biggest hug, climbed up and said “I love you daddy”. And then smiled and said “are you happy?”

Oh no, we have a serious player on our hands.

When Mommy arrived we hid behind the garden fence and frightened the life out of her when she stepped out of the car.

Sadbh was wrecked tired when it came time for bed and was out cold in no time at all.

New photos.

Photos from November 11 2011.

Photos from November 11 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – November 10th 2013

Sadbh slept great and woke up moments after Danielle’s shift ended.

She was eager to get upstairs to Mommy but I convinced her to hang out for an hour to allow Mommy to get some well-deserved sleep.

As soon as Mommy woke up we headed upstairs and Sadbh got to snuggle with both of us for a while.

Sadbh really wanted a chocolate chip cookie for breakfast so Mommy decided to give her one on condition that she ate her breakfast first. Unfortunately, Mommy gave her the cookie with her breakfast so you know what got eaten and what did not.

We decided to get trach care out of the way early in the day so we could head over to Green Lake for a walk. Sadbh originally put up a fuss but soon gave in and we were able to get trach care done without any problems.

When we arrived at Green Lake Mommy popped into a café to get a treat for Sadbh. Sadbh was all excited when she got her ginger bread man and could not wait to taste it.

A few minutes later Sadbh was fast asleep with as she held onto her gingerbread man.

An hour or so later Sadbh woke up just as we were getting back into the car. The first thing out of her mouth was “where is my treat?”.

Nothing get’s past Sadbh, that’s for sure.

After dinner the three of us hung out reading some of Sadbh’s favorite books. She was so comfy sitting between Katie and me and it was a perfect way to end the weekend.

New photos.

Photos from November 10 2011.

Photos from November 10 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – November 9th 2013

Sadbh had quite the night. She woke at 1:30 and immediately wanted Mommy. Unfortunately, Danielle gave in and after unhooking and turning off all of Sadbh’s equipment she allowed Sadbh to call up the stairs for Mommy to come down.

Katie usually sleeps with one eye open and with the baby monitor right beside her. She was watching all along and was quick to get down to Sadbh.

It did not take long for Katie to get Sadbh all reconnected to her equipment and before Sadbh knew what was going on she was fast asleep yet again.

She slept soundly for the rest of the night and did not wake until 7:45.

Cormac and Clodagh were already awake and out playing in the living room.

The kids had a fantastic morning playing however there were a few meltdowns along the way.

Sadbh was sad to see her two friends leave but it was soon time for her nap and trach care.

The rest of Sadbh’s day was lazy. We had planned to go for a walk but the weather had turned bad. Instead we headed up to Capitol Hill for dinner. Sadbh was delighted to get out of the house and was fascinated with all the deer heads mounted to the walls around the restaurant. It was quite eerie but she was not fazed and kept calling them Rudolph.

New photos.

Photos from November 9 2011.

Photos from November 9 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – November 8th 2013

Sadbh had a very restless night and woke up in a good mood close to 7am this morning.

She had an appointment with her cranial sacral doctor, Dr. Cavanaugh first thing this morning so it was a mad rush to have breakfast and get ready for her visit.

This was the first Dr. Cavanaugh visit without Mommy and Sadbh was not so keen. It took a lot of talking to get her to cooperate.

Dr. Cavanaugh noticed that her upper muscles were not as tense as previous visits and mentioned that it seemed that she was not working so hard to breathe.

It was a cool but pleasant day so we headed out for a walk as soon as we got home. Sadbh was happy to be out since she’s been cooped up all week. We headed to Nora’s Woods and it was such a great walk. Sadbh enjoyed her hike and by the time we arrived home she was getting very tired.

Trach care went well but Sadbh would not go to sleep. She fought us hard for almost two hours and we finally gave in.

Caity, her nurse supervisor, came by to recertify Sadbh and Sadbh was so excited to see her. She showed off her new tent and kept giving Caity hugs.

Sadbh was very excited as her friend Clodagh was coming over for a sleep over. It was Sadbh’s first ever sleep over and she could not stop talking about it all day.

Clodagh arrived around 4 with her little brother Cormac and Sadbh almost crashed through the window when she saw them arrive outside.

Clodagh was also quite excited and had packed her suitcase the evening before all by herself.

Needless to say the three kids had a fantastic evening. I was surprised with how crazy the house was all of a sudden but the kids were having such a wonderful time I could not help but join in.

After Katie arrived home the kids got busy baking cookies.

They obviously did not need the sugar but it kept them going well past their bedtime.

It took a while to get everyone to bed but soon the house was quiet and we were able to relax for a while.

New photos.

Photos from November 8 2011.

Photos from November 8 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – November 7th 2013

Sadbh had a very good night and slept later than usual.

Her day was much like yesterday however Ali-Baba came by to hang out and spend some time with her granddaughter.

They had a fantastic time together and Ali-Baba did a great job at tiring Sadbh out.

As usual Sadbh did not want us to do trach care. She only wanted to play with her toys and insisted that she was not tired and did not want trach care.

After some reasoning she eventually allowed us to manage trach care and before we finished she was fast asleep.

Later in the evening a long time friend of Katie’s came by for a visit and Sadbh was very happy to meet her.

Sadbh had already eaten dinner but still joined us when we sat down to our dinner. By now she was getting wired and very energetic.

Bedtime was not easy and it took almost an hour to get Sadbh off to sleep.

New photos.

Photos from November 7 2011.

Photos from November 7 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – November 6th 2013

Sadbh slept until half past six and lay in bed for another ten minutes before getting up. She was in a great mood and excited to see both Katie and me there in to greet her.

She had a fun packed day and spent it playing and doing arts and crafts.

Trach care was a little earlier than usual since I had an appointment at her regular trach care time. She was a great sport and completely cooperated. 

Naptime was later than usual and she slept for almost an hour and a half waking up in a great mood.

She was quite giddy when it came to bedtime so it took a while to get her off to sleep. However she and Mommy got some serious snuggles in before she finally fell asleep.

New photos.

Photos from November 6 2011.

Photos from November 6 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – November 5th 2013

Sadbh woke up bright and early and was ready for a busy day.

She woke up several times throughout the night but thankfully always went back to sleep.

Crystal was able to cap Sadbh’s trach for 42 minutes, which is a great accomplishment for recent nighttime trach capping.

Our night nurse is quite noisy and wakes both Katie and me up at least four or more times throughout the night. I’m surprised that Sadbh sleeps as well as she does considering.

We had originally scheduled to manage Sadbh’s monthly trach change last week however our medical supply company shipped Sadbh’s equipment a week late, specifically her replacement trach.

It arrived last night so we planned on changing it out today during trach care.

We worked on keeping Sadbh very busy and active this morning in an effort to tire her out. It worked out and after a little stand off she was soon sleeping. I think it was the promise of ice cream that did the trick.

Trach care went well and so did trach change. She did not flinch when I put in the new one. Surprisingly I felt a little resistance when I pushed the new trach in threw her stoma, however it went in fine and she had no problems breathing.

Sadbh slept for almost two hours and immediately asked for ice cream as soon as she woke up.

The rest of the day was spent building castles and playing hide and seek.

During dinner she had both Katie and me in stitches when she pretended that her taco shells were her ears.

New photos.

Photos from November 5 2011.

Photos from November 5 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – November 4th 2013

Sadbh woke up around twenty past six this morning and was so happy to see Mommy sitting there. She was ready for a big snuggle and once she was satisfied it was time for the fun and games to start.

We had a great morning and managed to get out for a nice long walk up to Capitol Hill.

She walked most of the way and only needed to be carried occasionally.

Unfortunately, she soon started to get tired and grouchy and wanted everything she that she saw. At one point we came across a few rubber ducks in a shop window and Sadbh would not leave without “her” ducks. I tirelessly explained that the ducks did not belong to her and that they were on display and not for sale. Sadbh responded with “why not” to each of my attempts.

Despite her fussiness she was in a good mood for the walk home. Halfway home I realized that she was wearing big girl pants and wanted to go to the potty. She said that she could hold it in until we arrived home and I was very pleased when she managed to do so.

Sadbh was exhausted when we arrived home so we gave her a quick bath and got her ready for trach care.

She put up her usual fight but soon gave in and allowed Jenna and I to get the job done.

It seemed that she was going to drift off to sleep afterwards but she hung out playing and reading books in her cot for the next hour or so.

When Mommy arrived home Sadbh was eating dinner. You could tell that she was very tired as she was getting quite delirious. By half past five she was bouncing off the walls and we were very nervous that she would need to go to bed a lot sooner than usual.

Both Katie and I spent the next couple of hours playing and having fun with Sadbh and managed to keep her awake and somewhat sane until it was time for bed.

As we prepared her for bed she passed out in the armchair next to her cot.

New photos.

Photos from November 4 2011.

Photos from November 4 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.