Bumbo baby seat

I bought a Bumbo baby seat for Emilia few days ago. I thought it was a good way to have her started on sitting... honestly it's so hard to take pictures of her in a sitting position because I have to hold her head to take a good photo. The chair seemed like a good way to get her strengthen her neck muscles too.

Well, she was protesting so much at the first sitting that I almost put it back in the box to return it to the store. Her head was wobbly and she was pulling all her mighty strength to keep it steady above her shoulders. What a workout it is for a baby to just sit around. Eeach subsequent time I put her in the chair though, she seems more comfortable and managing her head a little better. So the chair is staying with us.

1st Day - was crying at the top of her lungs for the good 3 minutes of first trial

2nd Day - teary eyes (and drooling) but still okay

3rd Day - not 100% happy but looking around and starting to enjoy the view

4th Day - couldn't get a good picture but no crying no cringing!!

Emilia gets her 2nd RSV shot

We went to NYGH today to get the 2nd RSV shot for the season. Last time we didn't see any other baby in the room and there was no wait but this time there were 2 babies ahead of us and 3 babies after us. It was a crowded place. It looked like all of them were babies discharged from NYGH's NICU (the nurses knew the babies and moms by name). None of them was carrying an oxygen cylinder or a oxygen sat monitor.... although the baby next to us had a feeding tube still. He must have a feeding issue. I felt a bit blessed that Emilia was at least eating well. I am happy that she doesn't have oxygen AND feeding issues... which would have made her a very frail child.

Well, while waiting in the waiting area, Emilia passed some gas and I had a feeling it was not just the wind... soon, she started squirming and then eventually crying and crying. As soon as we got called in, I had to change her poopy diaper with lots and lots of wipes.

She got one shot in her right thigh and this time she made sure that the nurse and Mommy knew she was not happy at all. She was crying so loudly. It was her "I am angry" cry.

The nurse said the next shot might have to be divided into two, one in each thigh because they don't administer more than a certain amount in the same place, and based on today's weight, she may exceed that amount when she comes in next month. By the way, she was weighed and it was 6.13kg.

Emilia is 12 weeks corrected

So, Emilia is already 12 weeks corrected. In actual age, she turned 6 months old yesterday. She had her 6 month vaccine a few days ago. She didn't even cry (and Mommy is not lying).

The NICU days seems like ages ago but it's only been a little more than a month since she came home.

She doesn't nap too much these days that it's even harder for me to update this blog. On the bright side, she sleeps through the night without even making any noise, sometimes up to 10 hours. Hmm... I wonder if this is the reason she has not gained much weight for about 5-6 days. I feel I need to compensate for the milk she didn't get overnight but she still seems to eat the same amount during the day. I bought some children's songs CD to play for her... Actually the real reason was for me to sing along and learn. I need to know these songs before she grows up and asks me how come I don't know any song.

She is licking and sucking her hands all the time. I am becoming even more paranoid about hand-washing now that her hands are constantly in her mouth.

She is getting about 7 hours off oxygen. I want to transition her slowly so that this weaning does not cause her any setback.

Birthday and milestones

Emilia's 100th day (in corrected age) is fast approaching. Actually I feel weird labelling it the 100th day. The 100th day since what? The day she was "supposed be" born? Nonetheless I am not going to just let it pass as we didn't get to have a proper celebration for Emilia's actual 100th day.

Emilia's bithday is May 31 but just like other moms of preemies, I am also wondering whether I should throw the 1st birthday party on her actual birthday or her "supposed" birthday, which is the due date. I hear a lot of preemie parents have a mixed feeling about their baby's 1st b-day...and me too. It's going to be a happy day because Emilia will have made through all the tough time and grown up to be just like other babies but it marks the day I failed her, it's the day she was NOT supposed to be born, it's the day I cried so much and it's the day she was resuscitated and sent to NICU. Besides she will be only 9 months corrected and won't act like other 1 year old birthday girls. But celebrating my due date doesn't feel right either. That due date is meaningless to us except in calculating her corrected age. Should we celebrate the date she came home with us...? Maybe. To my family, that's more like the day she was born. I know her birthday is still half a year away so I still have plenty of time to decide.

Emilia, 2 months and 3 weeks old

Emilia's length is about 59cm. Her weight is just under 6kg (13 lb). She has gained 1 kg (2.2 lb) since she came home 1 month ago.

She now wants to be picked up and held all the time. She doesn't go to sleep unless she's held. There was a time when she happily fell sleep after eating, but now she gets cranky and cries when she's sleepy. She has a lot of cat naps during the day.

Emilia now plays with her hands. She started to lift her hands and bring them to her eyes, nose, and mouth. She is not yet holding her toys but her hands are reaching out and brushing against them. I would say she's "learning" about her hands now.

And I know nobody will believe us but she said "mama." Yeah, I know she wasn't actually calling me but she said something very very close to "mama" when she and I were having some convesation. A very touching and emotional moment even though I know she was just cooing.

Pictures from Nov 22
*She kind of looks like me when I was a baby... but everyone agrees on that she looks like her daddy*