Sadbh’s update – October 7th 2012

Sadbh was flipping and flopping all over the place last night and Katie did not get much sleep in between suctioning and untangling Sadbh’s cords and hose.

By 6:30 Sadbh was ready to get out of bed and give me the two-kick alarm wake up call. Despite being exhausted tired, it’s hard to be annoyed when you are greeted by the biggest smile ever.

Sadbh was in a great mood so I took her downstairs for breakfast and gave Katie a chance to catch up on some deserved sleep.

As usual, Sadbh had a big appetite and she enjoyed breakfast while watching her favorite signing times DVD. She even bopped her head to the songs that were sung.

Katie and my father managed trach care today and Sadbh slept for almost two hours afterwards.

Since it was another beautiful day, we planned to spend the afternoon out on the lake. Sadbh woke up from her nap with a huge smile and was very playful as soon as I went in to get her ready for the afternoon. She often has fun covering her trach when I try to suction her. Today was no exception and she could not stop laughing as she wriggled away from me.

After a quick bite to eat we all headed down to the lake and off to meet up with our friends Keith and Charlene. Sadbh was delighted to see them and since it had been a while since they got to see her, they had not yet heard her voice. As soon as Sadbh had her Passy Muir Valve on she was chatting like crazy.

We even capped her trach and she tolerated it for over 8 minutes without interruption. This was the longest so far that she had been able to tolerate the cap and it was very exciting for us to see.

Sadbh had a great afternoon and really took a shine to Charlene. She even got to feed the ducks in the lake.

It was a perfect way to spend the day and we all got to relax and enjoy the good weather.

Even though she was running on fumes by the end of the day, Sadbh’s energy level is incredible and she had a fantastic day.

New photos.

Photos from October 7 2011.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – October 6th 2012

Sadbh slept much better last night and joined us in bed shortly after 1 so she could be suctioned and cuddled. Once she dropped back to sleep, we placed her back in her cot for another few hours.

She joined us in bed around 4 and was very cuddly for the rest of the night.

We had an early start since a very happy and playful girl woke us both up at 6:30.

Sadbh had tasty French toast for breakfast and got to play with Nana and Grandad.

We had planned to head out early to take care of a few odds and ends, but Sadbh got tired before we left, so we decided to give her a bath and to manage trach care. It was just as well that we did since she fell into a deep sleep as soon as we had her dried off and changed into her pajamas.

Later in the afternoon we headed out on the lake for a couple of hours. The weather was perfect and Sadbh was delighted as soon as we arrived at the marina.

We met up with one of my friends from work and as soon as we placed Sadbh’s Passy Muir Valve on, she got very chatty. At one point she even toasted everyone and kept saying cheers.

She had a fantastic day and really enjoyed hanging out with her grandparents.

New photos.

Photos from October 6 2011.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – October 5th 2012

Sadbh had a very restless night sleep and kept us awake for most of the night. Around 4am we had to suction a few times and after giving her some Tylenol, she calmed down and slept soundly until 8am.

She was in a very happy mood when she finally woke up and could not stop smiling from ear to ear.

Granddad and Nana got her changed out of her pajamas and it was time for breakfast.

Caity worked again today so Sadbh, Nana and Caity headed up to Madrona for a walk. Sadbh loved it and really enjoyed playing in the park.

By the time they arrived home, Sadbh was getting tired so they got the trach care proceedings under way.

Sadbh was obviously exhausted and slept for a couple of hours.

After lunch it was time to head off for a walk and to another park. She rode the carousel and had a brilliant time.

Sadbh had no interest in riding in her stroller and either walked or had to be carried the whole time.

As they walked past Garfield High school, the school band was practicing and Sadbh started to hum along to the music.

They all arrived back to the house a few minutes before I did and Sadbh greeted me with a huge smile.

Nothing beats arriving home to be greeted by such a happy, smiley little girl.

By bedtime Sadbh had learned another new word and impressed us all by saying “Nana”.

She then showed Nana her sign for monkey, much to the amusement of everyone.

New photos.

Photos from October 5 2011.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – October 4th 2012

Sadbh had another great night and slept right through until 6:30am.

Granddad popped his head in to say good morning and Sadbh gave him a nice but very shy smile.

Granddad was very quick to give her a hug and a kiss and before Sadbh knew what was going on she was being whisked downstairs to see Nana.

It was a fantastic way for Sadbh to wake up and just before breakfast she was spoiled with so many toys and clothes from her Grandparents and family back in Cork.

Her Uncle Ger and Aunt Ann gave her a musical Elmo. It kind of freaked her out at first but eventually she could not stop dancing to it.

She even got a lovely flamenco dress and she looked fabulous in it.

It was a very exciting morning and Sadbh had so much fun. Caity was working today so when it came time for Sadbh’s nap, she and my father managed trach care.

It was a little nerve wracking for my dad since he had not performed trach care in over six months, but it was like riding a bike and he did a great job.

Sadbh slept like a log for two hours and after she was done with lunch it was time to head out for a nice long walk in the sunshine.

They all headed off up to the Seattle University campus and Sadbh insisted in walking most of the way. It was a long and slow journey, but everyone had a great time especially Sadbh.

On the way home Sadbh noticed a motorcyclist getting ready to head off on his bike and she stood there and watched with great interest.

Just as he rode off, he gave Sadbh a big wave and she was thrilled beyond belief.

I arrived home shortly after they did and Sadbh had to climb up on my bike. She was very happy perched up on the bike and looked like she was ready to head off down the street.

Sadbh had a fun evening and had a laugh playing hide and seek. She acted surprised every time we found her and even more surprised when she found each of us.

After dinner we tried capping her trach and used all sorts of distractions to help her. At first she did not tolerate it, but when we broke out her new bubble machine she soon forgot that she was wearing it.

She did great for almost three minutes and the bubbles worked a charm.

Just before bedtime we headed out to say good night to the moon. It was too low in the sky but she gave it a few kisses regardless.

Bedtime was a little later than usual and since we don’t have a nurse tonight she is sleeping upstairs with us.

New photos.

Photos from October 4 2011.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – October 3rd 2012

Sadbh slept great last night and her blood oxygen level and heart rate were perfect all night.

Larissa did a great job looking over her and keeping her from getting tangled in all the wires.

Sadbh woke around 6:20 and had a big smile on her face. I got to play with her for a while until Katie came down and as soon as she saw Katie coming down the stairs, she had enough of me.

Sadbh’s new nurse, Caity, was working today and I stayed home for the first half of the day to make sure she had everything she needed.

Sadbh really likes Caity so I guess she has passed that test.

After Sadbh was done with breakfast they both headed out into the garden to play. Sadbh got busy in the garden picking tomatoes and she even managed to pick a pear.

It worked out great as the tomatoes came in handy for dinner tonight.

Even though she had a great night sleep, she looked very tired all morning. Eventually she started to get very fussy so we started the trach care ritual. Sadbh fell into a deep sleep as soon as she was done with her bath making trach care very easy.

Katie arrived home to take over from training no more than five minutes after we were done. It was perfect timing and it allowed me to head off to work for the afternoon.

Sadbh did not sleep for long after Katie arrived home and was obviously delighted to see her mummy peaking in through the door.

After lunch Sadbh got to head off up to the park in Madrona for a walk with her nurse and she was thrilled to be out and about.

Thankfully they found the right park so it was a much easier walk for Caity than the long walk she had on Monday.

We had a very busy evening getting the house ready for Granddad and Nana to arrive. Unfortunately, Sadbh was way too tired to stay up and fell asleep about five minutes before I arrived home with them.

Needless to say my parents were delighted to see Sadbh and I bet they cannot wait until tomorrow morning when they get to surprise her when she wakes up.

New photos.

Photos from October 3 2011.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – October 2nd 2012

Sadbh woke up around 11pm last night and it took Katie an hour to get her back to sleep again.

She slept like a log until 7:15am and was in a great mood when she woke up.

Audrey started her shift shortly afterwards and Sadbh had a great morning eating breakfast, watching her DVD and playing with her toys.

Sadbh had a great morning with Audrey and she got to take a long nap shortly after 11.

After lunch both Sadbh and Audrey headed up to Madrona for a walk and a chance to check out the park.

It was a beautiful day and Sadbh loved being out in the fresh air.

Her evening was a lot of fun and she could not stop dancing.

Our next-door neighbors Pat and Charlie stopped by for a while and Sadbh was thrilled to get to play with Charlie.

When it came time for bed, Sadbh was extremely tired. Since we could not do trach care earlier today we had to manage it after she fell asleep.

Thankfully she slept right through it and before long she was tucked into her bed all snug.

I hope she has a better night sleep tonight.

New photos. Unfortunately I am unable to post videos of Sadbh to flickr as they have been flagged as unsafe. I’m currently trying to get this resolved so I apologize for the inconvenience.

Photos from October 2 2011.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – October 1st 2012

Sadbh slept quite well and joined us in bed around 4am. She was slightly uncomfortable and needed a suction and a nappy change. Just as we were putting a nice dry nappy back on, she left out a big fart. Despite being fast asleep, she made the baby sign for poop as soon as she farted and both Katie and I had to hold back the laughter for fear of waking her up. It was a priceless moment.

Sadbh’s new nurse Caity started work today so Katie worked from home in the morning and I worked in the evening. This gave Caity a chance to get to know the lay of the land and also Sadbh the chance to get to know Caity.

Everything went really well and Sadbh had a lot of fun with her new nurse.

Later when it was time for trach care, Sadbh had a nice relaxing bath and was soon fast asleep. Katie and Caity managed trach care and Sadbh slept on for a couple of hours.

Caity is experienced with trachs and how to care for them, however our technique was very different to what she was used to, so it was good to get some first hand experience with Katie.

In the afternoon Sadbh got to go for a walk with Caity and they ended up down by Lake Washington. It was a very long hike back up the hill and through Madrona, however Sadbh did not seem to be too fazed by it all.

She had a great evening hanging out with Katie and when it came time for bed we went out into the garden to say good night to the moon. Sadbh searched everywhere for the moon and after I explained that it was behind the clouds she gave it a bigger than usual kiss good night.

The nursing agency really let us down again today and informed us that our nurse that was scheduled for tomorrow could not work due to some internal retraining issue. If they could have given us more notice we would not have to scramble to try to find someone to help.

Thankfully Audrey got back to Katie and confirmed that she could cover the shift. We are so grateful and it’s alleviated a lot of stress.

Larissa is working tonight so Sadbh will be well taken care of. I hope for Larissa’s sake that Sadbh tones down the flatulence.

New photos.

Photos from October 1 2011.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.