Sadbh’s update – February 9th 2013

Katie and I went out to watch a movie after we got Sadbh off to sleep and Granddad and Nana looked after her until Julie arrived.

Sadbh woke up at 10pm just when Julie arrived. Granddad was quick to get her back to sleep, but moments later she was wide awake so Julie took over. It did not take long before Julie had Sadbh back to sleep and thankfully she slept great until just before 6am.

Typically I take over from Julie in the mornings, however since Sadbh was awake so early Katie headed down to take over. Sadbh was in a really good mood and she said thank you to Julie as she left.

After breakfast Sadbh came up to bed but demanded to watch the telly. She wasn’t happy with Curious George and really wanted to watch her wheels on the bus show.

Since it was my turn, both of us headed downstairs so she could watch her favorite show.

Sadbh was delighted when I pulled out her iPad and turned on Wheels on the bus. She devoured her second breakfast and was so happy with herself.

It was a damp cool day so Katie and I decided to organize the basement. Sadbh has so many clothes and toys and they take up so much space.

Nana and Granddad were very helpful and looked after Sadbh while Katie and I got busy organizing and clearing out the basement.

Before we knew it a couple of hours had flown by and it was time for trach care. Nana and Granddad bathed Sadbh and within no time she was in a deep sleep and ready for trach care.

Her neck was looking quite tender on the right side so Katie applied a dressing to allow it to heal.

She slept right through trach care and on for another hour and a half.

Katie and I were still busy spring-cleaning so Sadbh joined us in the basement as we organized. She had so much fun playing with all her toys.

Somehow she found a life jacket and immediately wanted to wear it. It fitted perfectly and she wore it for the next three hours.

It was a great evening and between the three of us we all accomplished what we needed to get done.

When it came time for dinner Sadbh insisted on helping out. We had no choice but to allow her to mix in the salad dressing and I have to admit it was a great salad.

Sadbh was exhausted when it came time for bed and was fast asleep in no time.

I hope she has a better night sleep tonight and that she sleeps in a little later than she did this morning.

New photos.

Photos from February 9 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – February 8th 2013

Sadbh slept great and woke shortly after 6am. Her heart rate and blood oxygen were perfect all night and I don’t think Julie even had to suction.

After a nice big breakfast it was time for the fun and games to start. She was busy playing with her toy kitchen and she was having a great time.

It was a pleasant day so later on Sadbh, Nana and Granddad all headed off for a walk around the neighborhood.

As usual Sadbh had a great time and really enjoyed being out in the fresh air.

Since we did not have a nurse today I came home from work for an hour to manage trach care. Granddad was getting everything set up as I arrived and I was greeted at the door by a tired but happy little girl.

She was exhausted but still had so much energy to burn off. Nana gave her a bath and before we knew it she was fast asleep.

Trach care did not take long and thankfully Sadbh slept right through it.

She ended up sleeping for two hours and was very happy when she finally woke up.

Dinner was next on the schedule and she had a huge appetite. She ate so much that she really did not have much of an appetite for the rest of the evening.

It was a fun evening and Sadbh and I got to play with her train set for a while.

She could not stop singing “the wheels on the bus” song and thankfully I was able to video record it.

When it came time for bed Sadbh was getting a little bit cranky. She was very tired and wanted some serious cuddle time with her mommy. After washing up and brushing her teeth, it was time to kiss Nana and Granddad good night. As Katie brought Sadbh to her room, Sadbh shouted out “Happy dreams”.

New photos.

Photos from February 8 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – February 7th 2013

Sadbh had a good night but woke up for a short while around 2. She asked for Katie and when Larissa explained that she was sleeping, Sadbh decided that she wanted to play with Larissa instead. Unfortunately for Sadbh, Larissa did not entertain the idea of playing at 2am so Sadbh eventually went back to sleep.

She slept great for the rest of the night and woke up shortly after 6.

She was quite content in her cot, however, and she surprised Katie by lying there playing with her binkys. She stayed like that for almost an hour and was in a great mood.

When she finally got up it was time for breakfast and she had a big appetite.

She had a very relaxing morning and when Caity arrived at 10 it was time to head down to the basement to play with her train set and other toys.

It was a cool but sunny day so they all headed out around the block for a walk. Sadbh was very happy to be out and about.

They were out for about 40 minutes when Sadbh started to get tired. As soon as they arrived home and unloaded all her equipment it was time for her bath, sleep and trach care.

Sadbh slept soundly for two hours and woke up in a great mood after a very restful sleep.

After dinner and a chance to catch up with some playtime, Sadbh, Granddad and Nana bundled up and headed out for another walk. This time they headed up to the campus of Seattle University. Sadbh loves the campus especially the hustle and bustle of all the students.

She had a wonderful evening and was full of energy and fun. She wore her cap for 50 minutes and was very excited when we put a trach cap on her toy monkey.

Sadbh has a monkey named Spud-Monkey and we put Sadbh’s first trach on Spud as soon as we changed out her first ever trach. Today we decided to cap Spud-Monkey to show Sadbh that it can be done and that it’s nothing to be afraid of.

When it came time for bed she insisted on taking Spud-Monkey with her.

New photos.

Photos from February 7 2013.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – February 6th 2013

It was a much better night for Sadbh and she had a very comfortable sleep until just before Larissa’s shift ended at 6.

This worked out well as Sadbh got to spend a few minutes with Larissa before she left.

She had a big breakfast and could not wait to start the days play activities.

Caity worked today and since the weather was dry they all headed out for a walk around the neighborhood. The power company has a couple of telephone poles lying along the footpath down the street and Sadbh loves to walk along them.

Sadbh also enjoyed checking out a few cats in the neighborhood and they seemed equally interested in her.

When they arrived back at the house, Sadbh could not wait to show Caity her new train-set from her cousins in New Zealand.

Eventually the excitement of the morning got to her and it was time for her bath, nap and trach care.

Everything went great and Sadbh slept for three hours afterwards.

When she woke up she very hungry and very playful. Thankfully, her appetite is back in full and you can see she is starting to put on the weight after being sick with pneumonia,

She wore her cap today for half an hour and wore her Passy Muir Valve for most of the day.

She had a great evening but was very shy when uncle Neil stopped by to say hi. It was the funniest thing. She cuddled up with Granddad first and wouldn’t even look at Neil. Even when she was in my arms she acted extremely shy. I have no idea what got into her as she knows Neil and has been very affectionate towards him in the past.

When it came time for bed, Sadbh got very playful with her socks, gloves and hats. She took one of her socks and placed it on her hand and started to pretend it was a puppet talking to herself. It was one of the funniest things I had seen.

She is quite a character.

New photos.

Photos from February 6 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh. 

Sadbh’s update – February 5th 2013

Sadbh had a restless night and woke up a number of times. Larissa was able to get her back to sleep each time, but her heart rate did not drop below 100 for long throughout the night.

She woke up around 6:45 in great spirits. She was very happy to see Katie and before breakfast she wanted to sit in the rocking chair to read one of her books. It was a sweet moment but was made even sweeter when she had all her binkys in her lap.

Afterwards it was time for breakfast in which she devoured with serious determination.

As soon as she was finished with breakfast, it was time to play with Nana and Granddad.

Sadbh did not have a nurse working today so Ali-Baba came by to hang out and help with trach care. Sadbh was delighted to see her and Ali-Baba got stuck in on the fun.

For lunch she had a tiny drop of Irish Tea mixed in with her milk. She was in heaven and really enjoyed the tea, even though it was very milky.

Trach care was a little later than usual today but Sadbh had no problem falling asleep. She slept right through it and on for two hours.

She had a fun packed evening and got to play with a model train set that she got from her cousins in New Zealand. Conor has the same train and knew that Sadbh would love it so he got his mom to get one for Sadbh. Conor was right and Sadbh loved it.

She wore her Passy Muir Valve for a few hours today and just before dinner she asked Katie to put her cap on. She tolerated it for a few minutes but it seems that we are slowly getting back on track to practicing her PMV and cap in preparation for her next visit with Dr. Inglis.

Bedtime was hilarious as Sadbh had to try on a few different pajamas. She wouldn’t allow us to put her pajama bottoms on and insisted on wearing them around her neck like a scarf. Eventually we got one pair on, but she still had to wear the other as a scarf and then she could not stop checking herself out in the mirror.

She did look adorable, but she knew that also.

New photos.

Photos from February 5 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – February 4th 2013

Sadbh slept great last night and woke up around 6:30. She was well rested and hungry for breakfast.

After her belly was full, it was then time for the fun to begin.

Later on Sadbh was delighted when Su Jin arrived.

The weather was mild so they all headed out for a walk through the neighborhood. Sadbh came across a few dogs and she did not want to leave. She really enjoyed watching them and even wanted to follow them home.

Shortly after arriving home it was time for her nap and trach care. Sadbh slept right through and slept on for a total of two and a half hours.

She woke up in a fantastic mood and ready for her dinner. The rest of her evening was spent playing in the basement and hanging out. She was very excited when Katie arrived home.  She surprised everyone by sampling some of Katie’s salad for supper.  Her face was priceless, as she tasted the lemon/mustard salad dressing.  She quickly decided she loved it and couldn’t get enough.

It took ages to get her to sleep tonight. We have found that the nebulizer gets her heart rate racing so she’s all hyped up when it comes time for bed.

Eventually she calmed down and fell asleep.

Larissa is working tonight so hopefully Sadbh will have another good night sleep.

New photos.

Photos from February 4 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – February 3rd 2013

Sadbh had a much better night and slept right through without any problems. She woke up just after Julie left at 6am and immediately wanted me to bring her up to mommy.

She had a fun morning playing with everyone and when it came time for her nap she was well and truly wiped out.

Trach care was easy and Sadbh slept right through it.

She slept for an hour and woke up in a lot of pain. We noticed a couple of new teeth coming in so I’m sure this is what was causing her distress. I gave her a little dab of Orogel to help ease the pain but she still seemed very upset.

It took a while for her to calm down and when she did she was back into her usual good mood.

The fun and games continued and we had a great time playing with her toys in the basement. She noticed her old chair in the basement that we used shortly after she arrived home from the hospital and she insisted that I pull it out of the storage space so she could sit in it. She got more use out of it today than she did when she did in the past and she could not stop getting in and out of it.

Later we headed to University Village and she really enjoyed being out of the house. She was bundled up so snug that she looked adorable with all the different colors and layers.

After dinner tonight she showed off her newfound chair to Granddad and Nana and later she entertained us with a dancing session. She had so much fun and you could tell she was starting to get tired.

As Katie and I were getting her ready to bed her pajama top got stuck for a moment on her head. She thought this was hilarious and immediately stuck her binky through her pajama top into her mouth. It was a priceless moment and all three of us were in hysterics laughing.

It did not take long for Sadbh to fall asleep tonight. Hopefully she will sleep well all night and that her teeth will not bother her.

New photos.

Photos from February 3 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.