Sadbh’s update – January 2nd 2014

Sadbh slept really well but her heart rate started to climb around 5am.

When I took over from Helen at 6 Sadbh’s heart rate was in the low 120’s where she is usually anywhere from the low 80’s to mid 90’s.

She woke up around 7 but fell back to sleep until 8:30 and woke up upset that Mommy had already left for work.

Jenna was back to work but Sadbh did not want to see her straight away. I was able to get Sadbh into a good mood but then we noticed that she was running a low fever.

Despite this she was in a great mood all day and was soon showing Jenna all the new toys that Santa brought her.

Sadbh had a lot of energy but as soon as she had a bath she hit a wall. Her eyes were so heavy and she fell asleep only a few minutes after we started trach care.

We were able to keep her temperature down slightly by giving her Tylenol and Ibuprofen when needed but her heart rate was up in the 160’s as she napped. I discovered later that the Ibuprofen that we gave her had expired by a few months so that obviously did not help keep her heart rate and temperature reduced.

Sadbh was in a fairly good mood for the rest of the evening but had moments when she was fussy and not very happy.

She was excited to see Mommy and could not wait to get some serious snuggles in.

She could not wait to get to bed but it took almost an hour for her to fall asleep.  Just before she fell asleep she said to Mommy “when I wake up, you be here.”  Mommy told her that unfortunately, she would not be here since she had to go to work, but that it was Friday and she would be with her all day Saturday and Sunday.  Sadbh was not too pleased with this response so she came up with her own plan and said “daddy go to work, you stay here.”  Mommy told her that Daddy was going to stay home.  At that point, Sadbh came up with a new idea and she said, “I know, you stay here, daddy stay here, Jenna go to work.”  Then Mommy said “but when Jenna’s here, she is at work.”  At that point, both Sadbh and Mommy started laughing hysterically.  The more one laughed, the more the other laughed and this went on for several minutes, before the two were tired of laughing and they just sat there grinning at each other. 

Hopefully she will have a good night sleep and that she will kick whatever it is that she is fighting.

New photos.

Photos from January 2 2012.

Photos from January 2 2013.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – January 1st 2014

Despite all the fireworks throughout the neighborhood Sadbh slept soundly and woke up shortly after 8.

Helen worked late and as soon as Sadbh was awake she asked Helen to bring her to the bathroom so she could go potty.

We had a fun morning playing around the house and after trach care we loaded up the stroller and headed for a walk up to Capitol Hill.

It was quieter than usual and Sadbh was very content to ride along in the stroller waving her magic wand at all the people she passed while wishing them Happy New Year.

Sadbh has not napped in quiet some time but she did fall asleep during our walk today. She was out for an hour and a half and when she woke up she did so with a jolt. She had no idea where she was and had a very surprised look on her face.

Our walk home from downtown was a long slow affair. Sadbh insisted on walking most of the way and since she had a good nap she was in no hurry to get home.

It took ages to get Sadbh to sleep and poor Katie was exhausted when she finally did fall asleep.

New photos.

Photos from January 1 2012.

Photos from January 1 2013.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – December 31st 2013

Sadbh slept in until almost 8:30 this morning and started playing hide and seek with Helen. She’s not used to waking up with the night nurse looking after her but other than being a little shy she handles it quite well.

We had a busy morning taking care of a few projects and after we got them finished up it was time for trach care.

Sadbh did well and allowed us to get things taken care of without any issues.

As soon as we were done we headed off downtown to the Aquarium. We scored the jackpot with parking practically outside the building and as we were paying the admission a family came up and gave us their extra guest passes.

We could not believe our luck!

The first exhibit was a huge fish tank with all sorts of coral and fish. Our timing was perfect as there was a diver showing off the different marine life. After we were done with that Sadbh turned to Katie and said that once she has her trach out she would like to do that.

When we visited the touch pools Sadbh was too scared to touch any of the marine life.

She was fascinated with the octopus and jellyfish and did not want to leave.

The rest of the aquarium was fantastic and Sadbh really enjoyed all the different exhibits.

By the time we got home Sadbh was wired to the moon. She was too hyper to eat dinner and it was not long before she was fast asleep in bed.

New photos.

Photos from December 31 2011.

Photos from December 31 2012.

Happy New Years.

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – December 30th 2013

Helen only had to suction once during the night after Sadbh had a big cough. She had coughed a big mucus plug into her trach however it was very easy to suction out and Sadbh slept on as if nothing had happened.

Since Jenna was still sick, Helen worked a couple of extra hours and gave Sadbh a back massage when she woke up. Sadbh kept pretending to be sleeping and when Mommy arrived she admitted that she was hiding from Helen. She is very much a diva.

Every morning we watch to make sure that the night nurse makes it to their car safely. This morning Sadbh joined Mommy as Helen headed off and as soon as she got in her car Sadbh proclaimed “oh my gosh, she made it to her car, whoo hoo!”.

We had a busy day playing with all of Sadbh’s new toys and organizing her old ones. Her favorite new toy is “Daddy pretending to be a horse” and like every day this past few weeks I spent a good portion of the morning galloping around the house with Sadbh demanding that I run faster.

Trach care went really well as Sadbh was excited to go visit her friends Clodagh and Cormac. Since she missed out on spending Christmas day with her friends she was very excited and could not wait to get there.

Cormac and Clodagh showed Sadbh the lovely toys that they got from Santa. Sadbh had a brilliant time and after dinner they had a gift exchange.

Sadbh was so excited when she opened the wrapping to find a lovely jewelry box and two little ponies.

When it came time to head home Sadbh was very upset and did not want to leave.

We were in a rush as we had to make it home before Helen arrived so we could get Sadbh into bed and off to sleep.

Our timing was perfect and shortly after snuggling up to Mommy she was fast asleep.

New photos.

Photos from December 30 2011.

Photos from December 30 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – December 29th 2013

Sadbh had a better night sleep and woke up in an excellent mood.

We all had a nice snuggle this morning and after breakfast we headed over to Greenlake for a walk. Sadbh wanted to ride her bike around the lake but she got lazy so she hung out in her stroller for the most of the walk.

Sadbh had some fierce appetite today and ate non-stop. She could not get enough food into her belly.

Sadbh’s imagination was in full force today and she had so much fun. At one point she was talking about her lunch bag’s eyes and we could not figure out what she was talking about, until we noticed that her lunch bag was hanging up to dry on a couple of the cupboard door knobs, which made it look like it had eyes.

New photos.

Photos from December 29 2011.

Photos from December 29 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – December 28th 2013

Danielle suctioned Sadbh’s trach a couple of times throughout the night and said she was quite restless, but all in all Sadbh had a good night.

She woke up just after 8 full of beans and ready to get the day started.

Katie’s friend Michelle came by for a visit and we all headed off to the Zoo.

Sadbh really enjoyed being out of the house and was very happy walking along holding my hand.

Sadbh was very sad when Michelle had to leave but soon she was very busy playing with all her new toys and riding around the house on my back pretending that I was a horse.

Later Sadbh and I were watching Top Gear and Hammond was driving a modified Land Rover around a quarry at great speed. Sadbh loved it and out of the blue said “that guy is a good driver, I want to do that”.

We had planned to go out with our friends for dinner tonight and had arranged for Jenna to take care of Sadbh until Danielle’s shift started. Unfortunately, Jenna came down with a cold so we had to postpone our earlier plans of catching a movie before dinner. Since dinner started earlier than when Danielle’s shift started, I met up with the group and Katie stayed with Sadbh arriving an hour later. Thankfully Sadbh was very tired so bedtime was easy and she was in a deep sleep long before Danielle arrived.

Hopefully Jenna will feel better soon.

New photos.

Photos from December 28 2011.

Photos from December 28 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.

Sadbh’s update – December 27th 2013

Sadbh slept like a rock last night, so much so that Helen figured that it would be a good opportunity to cap her trach. Ninja Sadbh was having none of it.  When Helen pulled the trach collar down Sadbh’s hand shot up to block Helen from getting access to her trach and she shook her head ‘no’. Even while in a deep sleep it’s near impossible to pull one over on her.

She woke up in a great mood and delighted to see Mommy after a twelve and a half hour sleep.

I am still dealing with a cold so Sadbh and Mommy allowed me to sleep in. Eventually Sadbh wanted to come visit and kept going on how she wanted me to get better.

Mommy had a couple of appointments this afternoon so after trach care Sadbh and I got to spend time together.

I was still feeling poorly but Sadbh did not care. Despite all the new toys she got on Christmas she insisted on pretending that I was her horse and she had me galloping around the house for an hour or so.

Needless to say she had a fun evening and was out like a light by 8:30.

I hope we can get out of the house tomorrow, as I’m sure she is getting serious cabin fever.

New photos.

Photos from December 27 2011.

Photos from December 27 2012.

All the best,

Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.