Sarah's Web-Diary

February 13, 2005, Daddy's comments
To Repeat last update's comment; Holy Cow! Look at that baby go!!!
Sarah is advancing in leaps and bounds. It seems that everyday now she learns or does something new. If only the speed crawler would only understand what the words "Stop" and "No" mean....
Oh My God!! Sarah can now climb stairs!! Carole had e-mailed me earlier in the day to say that she had gone up a step and then fell backwards (no harm done). But tonight Sarah decided to go all the way up the back staircase!!
She started a little slow; it took a while for the first stair as she wasn’t quite sure how to do it. The second stair took about half the time and then from there she just kept going. Mommy wasn’t far behind to make sure that she didn’t stop and fall backwards but Sarah went up all on her own!!
When she got to the top she was a little confused as to what to do as there weren’t any more stairs to go up so she stood up and made faces through the railing at me. The last picture of her is calling Grandmaman to tell her what she did.
Definitely need to get gates this weekend!!

February 13, 2005, Daddy's comments
Holy Cow! Look at that baby go!!!
Since Sarah first made her crawling motions a week ago, she has gone from inches to feet in about 2 days. She loves to stand and if she's fussy, the easiest way to calm her is to stand her up, she loves that.
Yesterday I went to get her from her nap and Carole thought that she was lying down kicking the crib side like she does so often.
Nope.
She was standing in the corner, holding on to the sides, JUMPING UP AND DOWN!!!
Boy, are we in trouble soon..... Good thing I lowered the crib the day before!
She loves to play with her blocks and is a very happy little girl as anyone who has met her can attest to. She waves 'bye' and makes kissy noises too.
She got her first postcard from Uncle Gilles and Aunt Cathie who mailed it to her from Las Vegas where they went to get married!
So far Sarah is right on track to keeping her New Year's Resolutions. She's mastered rollong over, learned to crawl, learned to sit up unsupported, learned to pull herself up from sitting to standing, picks up objects with both hands and passes them back and forth, and waves "good bye". The only thing left is walking unsupported and that won't be long in coming.
Way to go SweetPea!!! Mommy and Daddy are proud of you!!

February 12, 2005, Sarah "Speed Racer" Peters!!!
Sarah crawled for the first time this week. The reward was a piece of paper that was just out of her reach (thanks to Mommy!) and she was so happy when she managed to get that paper in her mouth. The paper was a birthday card that Mommy and Sarah made for Grandma Peters but Sarah preferred putting it in her mouth instead of mailing it.
Our little bundle of joy is quite the bundle of energy! She is constantly on the go. Thanks to Grand-Maman, Sarah now enjoys the toy that allows her to stand - although assisted. It’s called a Ball Blaster and it has 2 tracks that allow you to run balls through it. It’s sort of like an exersaucer, except it doesn’t have the seat part of it, so the child can stand in it or sit on the floor. Sarah uses it to try to grasp anything and everything she can. The Ball Blaster actually plays music and Grand-Maman noticed yesterday that Sarah actually ‘dances’ to the tune it plays.
Sarah has been enjoying her ‘peek-a-blocks’ that cousin Patrick and his fiancée Julie brought. Rob and I have discovered a whole line of new toys that are created to match these wonderful toys. I went out and bought her the ‘hippo’ ride along car that actually ‘eats’ the blocks as it runs over them. Sarah can use the hippo as a little car, or as a push toy (modified lawnmower). Until she’s more steady on her feet, she sits next to the hippo and empties it of the blocks. She is quite adept at throwing them – but that story is for another page of the diary.
Some of you made comments to us about how Tugger feels about being the displaced center of attention since Sarah was born. Well it was a rocky road, to say the least. Tugger started clawing the furniture so in consultation with a friend who works in a vet’s office, we decided to have Tugger declawed. I wish we had made that decision sooner. He underwent a procedure where the doctor used a laser to declaw him. There was less blood loss and faster healing. He has no ill effects and he is actually more friendly than before. When we play with Sarah on the floor, he joins us and lets Sarah pet (more like pluck) him. He has never been aggressive towards her. He actually sits at her bedroom door when she cries at night. We’re hoping that this is the start of a wonderful friendship.

January 4, 2005, Ney Year, New Accomplishments
She just doesn’t stop growing! Sarah now boasts 5 teeth and she weighs a 17 pounds and measures 26 inches. The best part is not the growing but the latest accomplishments.
Sarah now rolls over like a pro. She can now sort of crawl – without really wanting to she can get herself from point A to point B. We don’t think she knows she’s responsible for the actual moving. She still kicks like there’s no tomorrow and no one can say this child is sedentary! Her exersaucer is a modified version of the old walkers – it has one leg that doesn’t move so if she wants to walk, she is continually moving in a circle. Pretty cool toy! We can gauge how tired she is by how many revolutions she makes. She has mastered the forward motion as well as the moonwalk. We need to keep a wide berth around her since everything within reach is hers.
Sarah now has toast in the morning with Mommy. Sarah has her breakfast and then Mommy shares her breakfast with Sarah. It gets messier all the time. There’s no end to the laundry and we’re just waiting for the summer to come so that we can do this little ritual outside on the deck – that way we can use the garden hose to clean up!
We shared Christmas eve with the Deschamps clan at Grand-Maman’s house. What a crowd! We are very lucky that Sarah doesn’t mind the hustle and bustle and noise of a large family.
Over the holiday season we visited with Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt Dina, Uncle Andrew and cousin Dylan in Cobourg. We don’t get the chance to have the whole family together very often so it was a special time. Dylan and Sarah played together. Dylan has been able to say ‘Sarah’ for quite a while now and Sarah looks at Dylan with a bit of hero worship in her eyes. Though our time together was short, we had a wonderful visit.

November 29, 2004, Sarah’s latest accomplishments
Sarah now has 2 teeth, and her coordination is getting better. She can now hang onto my hair as I hold her – ouch! If she has her soother in her mouth, she can now grasp it with her hand and pull it out. Sometimes she can even manage to get it back in her mouth, though most of the time it ends up going in upside down. That’s when she uses it at a teething ring. She moves toys from one hand to the other and now has quite an attachment to stuffed animals thanks to cousin Tristan’s stuffed puppy dog.
She has a new game – throw things on the floor and wait for someone to pick it up. It’s hilarious to see people pick up things for her! It’s less enjoyable when she flings her soother into the back corner of the van and we have to pull over to find it! Time to find those clips that strap her soother to her.
Sarah can roll over quite easily now but doesn’t particularly care to be on her tummy. She’s not quite mobile yet but we’re predicting that day will be sooner than later. At her doctor’s appointment last week, Doctor Julie told us that she expects Sarah to walk well before she’s a year old. She has wonderful upper body strength and can stand on her own (with help making sure she doesn’t face-plant into anything). She can almost sit up on her own.

RADIO DAYS - Nov 12-19

RADIO DAYS 1 - November 12th, 2004 - CHEZ 106.1
The big push is on now for the CHEO Dream of a Lifetime Lottery, edition 2004. Rob, Sarah and I have been dropping by the house to lend support to the cause. The regulars who sell tickets at the house recognize us now and stop and talk to us. The media coverage lately has been pretty strong – today, CHEZ 106 was broadcasting from the house for their Tour of the Neighbourhood. Rob stopped in on his way to work at 6 in the morning (I should have issued an advisory for those of you who are used to his ‘morning’ face! Rob now goes into work for 6:40 in the morning – and you can actually have a conversation with him at that time!) Sarah and I headed over to the house after breakfast at a reasonable 7:30. It was wild! So many people there! We had a good time! Sarah is turning out to be her parent’s daughter. She is quite the outgoing little girl. She loves the attention people give her and will charm anyone willing to talk to her. We finally went home for Sarah’s nap but she kicked up a fuss about leaving all her fans behind!

RADIO DAYS 2 - November 16th, 2004 - 106.9 The Bear
Again today, Rob stopped in before going to work. He actually goes on air and lends his support to what we now call ‘The Cause’. The way we see it, anyone who is willing to give us a house, a car, a trip for two and groceries for a year deserve a bit of our attention. Today, the Bear 106.9 was broadcasting and to Daddy’s utter dismay, Stuntman Stu was offering to give Sarah to the person who buys at least 10 tickets! We decided to go home for a nap before Sarah found herself with new parents!
Max Keeping showed up to do an on-air interview. Sarah made noises when Max was talking and he used the noise to remind listeners that the lottery is to help support the hospital that helps our kids. Oh My God is he good!
There were all kinds of food at the house for breakfast and I started something that I’m already regretting. I was eating a slice of orange and Sarah looked at me inquiringly. So I let her chew on a slice (I was careful and held it between my fingers so she wouldn’t choke on it!) Boy did she love that! I now cannot eat anything without the look that tells me I want some of that too!
Katrina held her for quite a while and Steph from the morning show had her for a long time. Len also took a turn. Stu kept talking to her every time he walked by. The other guy on the show is expecting a baby any day now so we had a good chat about our birth experience. I probably should not be talking to first time expecting parents about my experience!

RADIO DAYS 3 - November 17th, 2004 - Y101
Today, the crew from Y101 was at the house all day. The people from the CHEO Foundation show up at the house whenever there is an event. We are getting to know them verrrry well. Katrina, Len and Kevin are the three we are getting to know. Kevin is the one who actually called Rob the day we won the house. At the events at the house Katrina has been going to sell tickets since the house is not actually open to the public until later on in the day. In between selling tickets, Katrina kidnaps Sarah and sings to her. We’ve been at the house so often now, that Sarah now recognizes Katrina and smiles at her when she sees her.
Again, Rob stopped in and did an on-air interview before I was actually out of bed. This time I was smart and turned on the radio and heard the interview. Sarah and I got dressed quickly and walked over to the house. We brought our breakfast with us and had it at the ‘big house’ (it’s bigger than our 4700 square foot home!). I started coming out of my shell (hard to believe I have a shell!) and I started talking to people about our experience winning the house. The CHEO Foundation people started taking my cue and telling people about us and Sarah’s participation in this year’s campaign. I really enjoyed telling people about the positive experience we’ve had.
I played the battle of the sexes and unfortunately did not represent our sexes in the best light. I lost to one of Rob’s co-workers, John Palmer. Being the sneaky person that I am, I immediately called Rob’s office and left him a voice mail and told him that John was skipping work and that he needed to advise John’s supervisor. He he he! He’ll think twice before crossing me again!
During the mid-morning show with Joel Lamoureux, I was interviewed on live radio. Joel and I talked about Sarah’s experience at CHEO and how wonderful the staff was to our little baby. He let me go on for quite a while – I started to feel that Rob’s wonderful speaking skills were rubbing off on me! After the interview, my mother called me to tell me that when my older brother was 5 they had to travel to Montreal for surgery for Sylvain because there wasn’t a children’s hospital in Ottawa at the time. Here’s this 5 year old alone in hospital in Montreal and my parents had to split their time between Ottawa and Montreal. They traveled to Montreal 3 times a week for the three weeks he was there. Unbelievable!
It was time again for Sarah’s nap so we walked home for a lie down and some lunch. We headed back to the ‘big house’ and spent another wonderful afternoon talking to everyone and just plain being friendly. Sarah perfected the art of charming everyone in sight. Kevin from CHEO could not get over how happy and pleasant Sarah is, he must have told us this about a million times.
The afternoon went so well that Sarah and I stayed at the house since Daddy was expected around 2. When it came to Sarah’s nap time, she settled on my shoulder and fell asleep. She slept through all the noise of everyone coming and going. NOW the CHEO people were impressed!
Auntie Julie stopped in to drop off toys for the Y101 toy drive. We spent quite a bit of time with her. It was wonderful seeing Julie again!

RADIO DAYS 4 - November 19th, 2004 - KISS FM
For once, we went to the dream home together as a family! We headed over to the house around 6 and were entertained by the morning crew from KISS FM. They had some technical difficulties going live from the house but they soon rectified the problem. When they were ready to talk to us on-air, I had to feed Sarah so Rob did his thing again. We had a great time!
By 8 in the morning, things were in full swing. It was very busy at the ticket selling counter so I pitched in to help. I had a great time getting people to fill out their ticket while they waited for their turn to pay. I continued talking to people and telling them about our experience and also introducing them to Sarah, who charmed everyone with her two tooth smile.

Sunday, Oct 31, 2004
Halloween!
First of all, we’d like to apologize for not keeping the web diary up to date. We’ve heard from all of you and we’ll make a better effort to keep the site up to date. Rob has been working hard to review and update the pictures on the site but since I’m with Sarah all day, it’s my responsibility to update the web diary. Sorry!

Baptism
We’d like to thank everyone for all the wonderful well wishes for when Sarah was in the hospital. A special thank you to Grandpa and Grandma Peters, Grandmaman Deschamps, Uncle Pierre and Auntie Moe, Uncle Frank, Auntie Loriann and cousin Noah as well as Auntie Beamer and Auntie Lissa. We were quite touched by everyone’s concern.
Sarah has been a busy girl since her release from the hospital. We had planned to have Sarah baptized on October 3rd, so when she was released from hospital, we had to plan quickly for the baptism. Tristan was baptized at the same time as Sarah so the day was extra special! Grandmaman came to spend some time with Sarah and I as I had planned on using leftover fabric and lace from my wedding dress to make Sarah’s Christening gown. We managed to pull it together in about 3 days. Grandmaman insisted that the little princess needed a cap so she made that while I made Sarah’s dress and bib. A special thank you to Rob’s Mom and Aunt Marg who offered gowns in case we didn’t get the dress made in time. An honourable mention to Aunt Karen and Uncle Paul who traveled from Colbourne to spend the special day with us.

Accomplishments
Sarah has cut her first tooth and it appears the second one is coming soon!
Sarah now uses her exersaucer (thanks to the Al and Pat Mutton family) and her jolly jumper. Boy she loves to be standing up on her own! The jolly jumper makes her squeal with laughter as Mommy tries to get her Creative Memories order in on time. She has also fallen asleep in it – check out the picture titled "what happens when you play too hard".
Sarah has been eating cereal since she was released from the hospital. I started saying ‘yum yum yum’ to her when I feed her and she has imitated me by saying ‘mmmmmm’ when swallowing the cereal. She is quite cute!
Auntie Loriann gave Sarah her first Halloween costume: a Winnie the Pooh outfit. Stand by for pictures! Thank you Auntie!

Sunday, Sept 26, 2004
HOME!
Sarah is home again!
Laura beat the system and actually was released before Sarah. She pulled the IV out of her arm and between 5 and 6 AM, they tried to put it back and couldn't. Since she was near the end of her antibiotics, they released her!
There was a new doctor on over the weekend. He decided that Sarah could be released after her last meds Saturday night. So around 9:30 PM we brought her home. Carole slept like a rock. Even Sarah did a bit. She woke up for 2 feedings, (her appetite is not 100% yet) but slept in late for her. It's a little rough, the antibiotics are playing havoc with the 'good' bacteria in her tummy and she is in a bit of discomfort at times. Daddy had to deal with a diaper this afternoon that I swear was half her body weight! Other times she is the happy/smiley baby the world loves, and that just melts my heart. We had a little thing going at the hospital and I told Sarah I would get her a pony for every smile.....
Thanks to all for their love and support. Now we have to concentrate on resting up and getting her back into a routine, getting her appetite back, and working through the discomfort.
Rob

Friday, Sept 24, 2004
Day 4 at CHEO.
Sorry, no new pictures today, just a quick update.
Sarah had her “dye test” today. They injected dye into her bladder and then used a CT machine (CAT SCAN) to watch the flow. They had Sarah wear this little hospital gown, pink and white stripes that was so big on her it was way too cute (the one time daddy decided not to bring the camera). They were looking for reflux, urine going from the bladder back to the kidneys (wrong way). I didn’t see anything wrong during it and the Dr told us later it was OK. Loriann, Noah, and Frank came to visit and found us down in Radiology. It was really nice to see them and they went out to Wendy’s and brought us back salads for lunch. Even I loved it as there is only so much hospital cafeteria food or fast food you can eat.
So, after all the tests have been run, still waiting for the blood culture I think, it appears to be an E Coli infection in her bladder. Just waiting for discharge on Sunday.
Rob

Thursday, Sept 23, 2004
Day 3 at CHEO.
Hi all! Mostly a nice quiet day at the hospital. Well, it didn’t start out that way….
Daddy waited a little bit before leaving this morning and avoided all the traffic! When he got to the hospital however, he was greeted by tears and crying by both Mommy and daughter. Sarah’s IV line got caught while she was being moved and it pulled the IV out of her head. Sarah was screaming quite a bit so I sent Mommy on a road trip to the cafeteria to get her away while the nurses took care of things. They determined that they would wait until around noon to start a new IV as she wasn’t scheduled for meds until then. The silver lining of all this was that it gave us about 3 hrs with Sarah not hooked up to the IV. We could hug her and carry her around without dragging around the stand. At noon the IV nurse and 2 student nurses came in to try to establish a new IV. I won’t get too graphic but it takes 3 nurses and daddy’s help to get an IV started. 12 lbs of pure energy when she’s pissed!
Carole fell asleep in the rocking chair, Sarah in her bouncy chair, and daddy (sort of) in the pullout chair. Mommy and Sarah got about 1.5 hrs. Grandma D came by to visit again and went pretty white while I told her about the morning’s events. We ordered a pizza with the other couple in our room. The driver went to the wrong door and went to Emergency. We almost didn’t get our pizza through the waiting room!! :)
Here’s hoping tomorrow is just as restful….

P.S. Some bad news. Sarah’s release date has been pushed back to Sunday night. Nothing's wrong, she's doing fine as the pictures show. They hold her for 5 days after the antibiotics are started and she didn't get them until Tuesday night.....
P.S.S. Sarah's dye test is scheduled for 11:30 tomorrow.
P.S.S.S Soy based formula really really stinks!

Wednesday, Sept 22, 2004
Day 2 at CHEO.
Our second day at CHEO was a pretty good day. However, it started out poorly for daddy who got stuck in morning traffic and took 55 min. to go the 17 km from home to hospital. Sarah and Mommy both got some sleep last night. Carole says it’s amazing what 3 consecutive hours will do to restore you. Sarah woke up in a good mood. Daddy asked if she had a mood transplant done as she didn’t have her grumpy “I-just-woke-up-and-I-don’t-like-it” face. A CHEO Volunteer Association lady came by in the morning with blankets! This is a blanket that Sarah gets to use at the hospital and then keep and take home with her. Incredibly nice, thanks! Everybody got a chance to have some quiet time during the day and napped!
Sarah charmed umpteen nurses and staff with her killer smile today, which leads us to believe that she is back to her old self again. You can never get tired of hearing people say “what a beautiful baby”, esp. when it is nurses who see tons of babies. She didn’t even fuss when they came to prick her heel for bloodwork. Sarah’s ultrasound came back clear so the only things outstanding are the blood culture (which takes a few days) and a dye test to see if urine is backflowing up to the kidneys.
In the afternoon, Grandma Deschamps came to visit. We all went for an ‘outing’ to the play room down the hall. Katrina and Mary from the CHEO foundation came to visit Sarah and brought her a CHEO Foundation Teddy Bear! Again, thanks guys!
So, to summarize, Sarah is doing well. As soon as they determine the antibiotics are working well, they will stop the IV and probably discharge her. However, we don’t yet know when that will be. They have to be fever-free for 48 hrs and while Sarah’s temperature went down quickly because we caught it early, 8 month old Laura in the crib in the room with us had a fever for 5 days and it still isn’t down yet.
Thanks to all for your thoughts and prayers, it’s looking good. Keep checking back here for updates.
Rob

Tuesday, Sept 21, 2004
Rob, Sarah and Carole were at the CHEO emergency room since 3 pm Monday, came home around 8:45 and went back at 10 pm. Sarah is now on an IV and antibiotics for a bad bladder infection. Sarah was admitted last night and will be in hospital for 2-3 days. She has a bladder infection which is a little unusual in someone so young so they are doing a bunch of tests, esp. given Carole's family's history of Diabetes.
They are doing well, just preventative tests which need to run for 24-48 more hours before they are comfortable releasing her.
Carole and Sarah were not be able to go to the CHEO lottery launch. Kinda ironic, isn't it? CHEO people came all the way out to our neck of the woods and we ended up at CHEO? Anyway, watch the news (CJOH or New RO) at 6 if you can, Sarah's commercial might air then.
More info later, please don't worry.
Rob

Monday, Sept 6, 2004
Rob keeps in touch with the CHEO Foundation people. When the new lottery was launched in September 2003, Rob went over to the new house and helped them sell tickets by talking to people about our experience. Y105 was doing a live feed from the house and they interviewed Rob. We had such a wonderful experience that we want to do all we can to help the Foundation achieve its goals.
When Rob launched Sarah’s website, he sent the link to the CHEO Foundation. A few days later we were asked by the advertising people if they could have a family picture to include in the new lottery advertising. We sent them a picture of us in our formal living room. They called again, this time they were looking for an infant for their advertising, would we allow them to have Sarah in their commercial and print ads? What a wonderful way to help out!
On August 20, we went to the studio. We were met by Len and Katrina from the CHEO Foundation. They had a hospital crib set up already. Sarah played in the crib for the better part of an hour.
On September 3rd, we went back to the studio to film the commercial. Though Sarah had not had a good morning, she was a trouper. The filming lasted about half an hour.
Sarah charmed quite a few people with her shy smiles. When someone really impresses her, she ‘chats’ them up as well as smiles at them.

Sunday, Sept 5, 2004
Daddy and I worked on learning to roll over! For anyone who doesn't know how to do this, its easy! What you do is, lie on your back and then put your feet straight up in the air. Leave them there for a bit and sooner or later, you'll tip to one side or the other. I tend to go to my left as that is the way my head is turned.
Sarah