Sadbh’s update – August 20th, 2012

Sadbh kept Larissa very busy last night since she was very restless. She was tossing and turning all night and kept getting tangled up in her cords and hose.

At one point she sat up and made the sign for mommy. Larissa made the sign for mommy sleeping and Sadbh laid back and went to sleep.

She woke up at 6:15 and was hungry for breakfast. Once she was done eating, she started to play with all her books in the living room. She took all her books, one by one, and stacked them on the couch.

As soon as she was done stacking her books, she pointed for Nini to sit down and once comfortable, Sadbh climbed up and insisted on Nini reading every single book to her.

Destiny was working today and Sadbh got very excited when she arrived. The fun and games continued and Sadbh had everyone chasing her though the house and eventually out in the back garden.

All the running and racing tired Sadbh out and after trach care she slept soundly for two hours.

She woke up in a great mood and immediately tucked into her lunch.

After lunch it was time to head out into the sunshine and off to one of Sadbh’s favorite parks.

While she was there she got to use her Passy Muir Valve and she did great the whole time making sounds and yapping contently to herself.

The exercise wore her out and she slept for the whole walk back to the house.

She was very cranky when she woke up an hour later and could not stop holding her jaw. We suspect that she has molars coming in so I gave her some Orajel to help sooth her gums. 

It obviously did the trick as she wanted more, so much so that I had to hide the tube of Orogel for fear that she would rip the place apart to get to it.

It was a stressful evening as Sadbh is starting to become very defiant. When she does not get her own way, she looks me straight in the eye and grabs at her trach.

We went out to greet Katie as she arrived home and Sadbh bumped into her friend Maya. Maya and her parents were out walking their two dogs so Sadbh was in for a treat. All of a sudden she could hear Anna’s puppy barking next door, so Sadbh ended up getting to check out so many dogs.

She was in her element and could not get enough.

The rest of the evening was great and Sadbh had a huge appetite, yet again. Thankfully she eats very healthy food and has even started to eat off of our plates.

New photos.

Photos from August 20 2011.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – August 19th, 2012

Sadbh slept ok until shortly after midnight when she joined us in bed for the rest of the night. It was a lot cooler than the previous few nights so the three of us slept well until shortly after 7.

She had the biggest smile on her face as soon as she woke up and was waving like crazy. You could tell that she was eager to start the day and she could not wait to get downstairs to have breakfast and to catch up on some of her Baby Signing Time DVD.

Her morning was spent either chasing Katie or me, or being chased around the house. She had a brilliant time and did not show any sign of slowing down.

This went on for a few more hours and even Nini joined in on the fun.

Eventually she was showing signs of getting tired so we prepared her bath and started the trach care proceedings.

She really enjoys her baths and even though she is getting bigger by the month, she still fits nicely into her blue tub. It’s easier for us to keep her safe and preventing her from dunking her head under the water when we use this tub. If she goes under the water, it would result in an emergency situation since she has no way of stopping water from getting into her airway through her trach.

It did not take long for Sadbh to drop off to sleep and this allowed us to manage trach care very easily. She even slept for an hour and a half afterwards.

Once she was awake, it was time for her lunch and off we went to visit friends of Katie.

We arrived at Sonja and Rob’s house with a very shy little girl. She was very quick to hide behind Katie or myself, but it did not take long for her to come out of her shell, especially after meeting their two kids, Devin and Carson.

Sadbh had a great time trying to keep up with her new friends and things got even more exciting when Sadbh got to play with their drum kit.

She had so much fun she did not get to take her second nap of the day.

Traffic was terrible heading home but Sadbh got to snack all the way. She has the most incredible appetite and can put away so much food.

Once we arrived home it was time for her evening meal and at this point she was getting very tired.

Katie headed out to the shops to get groceries and Sadbh was not pleased. It took a good half an hour to settle her down and eventually she fell asleep.

It breaks my heart to see her so upset.

Larissa is working tonight so I know Sadbh will have a good nigh sleep.

New photos.

Photos from August 18 2011.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – August 18th, 2012

Sadbh had a restless night sleep and was up and down all through the night. She was ready to start her day around 7:30 and thankfully she was in a fantastic mood.

Unfortunately her trach ties were bothering her and she managed to pull the Poly Membrane dressing out from under her trach which caused us slight panic at first. Katie was able to keep her calm while she inserted a new Poly Membrane back into place.

We had a bunch of things to do this morning and both Katie and I were nervous that Sadbh’s schedule for trach care would make things difficult. Thankfully she was so excited to be out and about that she had no desire to nap anytime soon.

We headed out to a tile store to pick out new tile for our bathroom and Sadbh made friends with everyone there. There were two little boys there that were very intimidated by her and this encouraged her to chase them that much more. It was very funny to watch.

She started to nod off on the way home so Katie and I had to keep her awake by singing to her. It worked and as soon as we arrived home it was time for Sadbh to have her bath.

She had a great time and could not stop laughing. It was obvious that she was very tired but she had so much fun regardless.

She fell asleep as soon as she was dried off and in her pajamas, and this made trach care very easy.

Sadbh did not sleep for long so it was off downstairs for her lunch and once her belly was full we headed off to clean the boat.

We could tell that Sadbh was still very tired so we drove down to Seward Park so she could fall asleep. She slept in her car seat on the dock for a good hour and a half and once she woke up she had great fun playing with Katie on the boat.

After we were done it was time to meet up with Neil, Benny, Derek and Sadbh’s little buddy Cormac for dinner.

Sadbh could not keep her hands off of Cormac and made him very uncomfortable with all the kisses she tried to give him. Eventually he came around and both of them had a great time hanging out together.

When it came time to go home, Sadbh was exhausted and ready for her bed. She just about had enough energy to brush her teeth, wash up and change into clean pajamas. As soon as she cuddled up to Katie she fell straight into a deep sleep.

It’s a lot cooler tonight so I hope she gets a much better night sleep tonight.

New photos.

Photos from August 18 2011.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – August 17th, 2012

Sadbh slept great last night and woke up at 6:45. As soon as she was done with breakfast, she could not wait to get up stairs to see me since she only had a few minutes with me the day before.

She kept making the sign for daddy and once she came into the room she had the biggest smile on her face. She lurched forward into the bed and gave me the biggest hug ever. It was a fantastic way to start the day.

She had a fun packed morning playing with Nini and later on Ali-Baba stopped by to join in.

They had a great time chasing Sadbh around the house and she could not get enough of it.

Sadbh was very tired but could not stop playing. Eventually it was time to take a bath and once Sadbh was dried off and in her pajamas, she was fast asleep in no time at all.

Trach care was very straightforward and Sadbh slept for over an hour and a half afterwards. This also gave Nini and Ali-Baba a chance to relax as they were both exhausted from running around after Sadbh all morning.

After a big lunch, Sadbh and Nini headed off out to one of the local parks to cool off in the shade and to watch all the other kids playing in the fountain.

Sadbh loved it and this time the other kids kept coming up to her to say hello and to tell her how cute she was.

She even brought her pink purse along and carried it proudly everywhere she went.

She is quite the princess.

After a while Nini noticed that Sadbh was pulling on her trach a lot and she could also tell that she was breathing heavier than normal. It seems that the high temperatures makes it uncomfortable to wear a trach while also drying out her airway.

On the way home Nini brought Sadbh into a grocery store to cool off in the AC, but when it came time to leave Sadbh wanted desperately to stay.

My parents surprised my sister yesterday by showing up in New Zealand unannounced. Once Sadbh arrived home it was time to Skype with them all.

As I was powering up the laptop, I mentioned to Sadbh that we were going to Skype with Granddad and Nana and she immediately ran over to me while making the sign for Granddad.

She was thrilled to see them all and could not stop blowing them kisses.

She also figured out how to remove her nappy today and demonstrated this for her viewers in New Zealand. It was quite funny to watch until a little later when all of a sudden I noticed that she was playing with a little piece of poop.

After a quick clean up and a change of nappy, it was time for Sadbh to cool off with some ice cubes. She could not get enough of them and sucked them down so they melted very quickly.

It was way too hot for her to take her second nap today but despite this she had so much energy. We spent the evening running around the house and she was in her element.

Once it came time for bed she was exhausted and was fast asleep in no time.

We don’t have nurses for the weekend so Sadbh is upstairs in the hottest part of the house with us tonight. Hopefully it won’t be too uncomfortable for her and that she will sleep through the night.

New photos.

Photos from August 17 2011.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – August 16th, 2012

Sadbh slept great through the night, thanks to Larissa.  She woke up at 6:15, just in time to say goodbye to Daddy who was heading off to L.A. for a business trip. 

She was ready to start her day with a big breakfast that included scrambled eggs with cheese and banana. 

After that, she had some playtime with Nini.  Audrey worked today and Sadbh was very happy to see her.  Sadbh, Nini and Audrey had lots of fun together running through the house, collecting all of Sadbh’s toys and bringing them to her big chair.

She would then sit in it very proudly surrounded by her favorite toys.  It was as if she was the big boss, with her work (books and toys) and co-workers (dolls and stuffed animals) surrounding her.

Soon she got very tired and Nini and Audrey prepared everything for trach care.  It went well and Sadbh slept afterwards for just short of an hour.

When she woke up she was still very tired, but after a big lunch she was happy again.  Suddenly the door opened and Katie was standing there.  Sadbh was over the moon over this surprise.  Katie and her friend Joni had stopped by for lunch.  Sadbh was very excited and couldn’t stop smiling while eating lots of watermelon.  Sadbh was a bit shy of Joni at first, but by the end of the short visit, she couldn’t resist giving her a little kiss goodbye.

It was very hot today (up in the 90’s!), but Audrey, Nini and Sadbh still went for a walk and visited a playground.  Sadbh was very happy and couldn’t stop running around exploring everything.  She wore the Passy Muir for 30 minutes, but got very dry because of the heat so Nini took it off.

As soon as they were back home, Sadbh was exhausted and fell asleep.  After a brief nap, she was in a much better mood and was ready for more playtime with Nini.

Nini noticed that around 4:30 (the time when Daddy usually comes home), with every car that went by, Sadbh would make the sign for Daddy and look out the window.  It is amazing how in tune she is with the time of the day and the routine.

After a quick snack, they headed down in the basement where it was nice and cool and read some of Sadbh’s favorite books.  Later in the evening, Sadbh, Nini and Katie ate dinner outside and Sadbh got to eat some corn on the cob.

Sadbh’s friend Grace gave her a beautiful drawing today of an underwater picture.  Sadbh loved it and carried it around all evening.  Grace wrote on it “I love Sadbh”.  It is very special and Sadbh cant wait for her next play date with Grace.

It was a very beautiful day and by the end of it, Sadbh was so tired that she fell straight asleep.  Daddy will be home later tonight and Sadbh will be so excited to play with him tomorrow.

New photos.

Photos from August 16 2011.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – August 15th, 2012

Sadbh did a little bit better last night than the previous few nights and lasted until 3:30 before she woke up.

It did not take long before she was back to sleep and comfortable in her cot where she slept until 7am.

During breakfast she watched “Free to be you and me” which was a favorite of Katie’s when she was a kid. Sadbh loved it and could not keep her eyes off the telly.

After breakfast it was time to play with Nini and a short while later Su Jin joined in on the fun.

She had not seen Su Jin in a few weeks so she was very excited to see her.

Before Sadbh knew it, she was being chased around the house and as she went she started to gather all her toys.

After playing for most of the morning, Sadbh became tired so it was time for trach care. She slept like a log for an hour and a half and woke up in an excellent mood.

She wore her Passy Muir Valve during lunch and did a great job. She wore it for over three hours and could not stop making sounds.

Later in the evening she wanted to go outside and check out the garden. She noticed the garage door was open and wanted to check out the motorcycle. After we were done playing on the bike I started to close the garage door and Sadbh started waving good-bye to it. That wasn’t enough and we had to go back to the bike four more times.

Despite not wanting to sit on it, she could not get enough of the bike. I have a feeling that she’s going to have a motorcycle of her own in a few years.

When it came time for bed, Sadbh was wrecked tired and passed out in no time.

Larissa is back working tonight so we are hopeful that Sadbh gets a great night sleep.

New photos.

Photos from August 15 2011.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – August 14th, 2012

Sadbh had yet another restless night and ended up joining us in bed around 12:30 and after a snuggle to get her calmed down Katie put her back into her cot.

Just like the night before, Sadbh was awake and restless around 4 and it took almost an hour to get her back to sleep.

She had a great sleep and didn’t budge until 7:30.

Nadia was working again today and Sadbh was delighted. After breakfast she got to dance for Nadia and they all had a great time.

After trach care, Nini and her friend Alex headed out sight seeing and Nadia took Sadbh up to Madrona after she woke up from her nap.

Sadbh had a great time playing in the playground and could not get enough. When it came time for her lunch, both she and Nadia had a picnic in the park and she wore the Passy Muir Valve throughout. She did great and made so many sweet sounds.

Sadbh fell asleep on the way home in the stroller and was passed out in the back garden when I arrived home from work.

She looked so cute, but I had to fight the urge to lean in to kiss her for fear of waking her up.

She did wake up after 30 minutes and then the fun started all over again. She had a small snack and was more interested in playing.

Sadbh was done with me as soon as Katie arrived home and despite that, the fun continued.

She was quite tired after dinner and when it was time to go to bed she wasn’t quite ready, but she did not put up much of a fight.

Since it is so hot, chances are that she will restless again tonight.

New photos.

Photos from August 14 2011.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.