Searching for a Day Care

My mat leave is over at the end of next month but I decided to take a leave until Emilia is one year old corrected. I've got only 5 months left to be with Emilia at home all day long. I know eventually I am going to send her to preschool programs and then school but I feel so reluctant and anxious about leaving Emilia with others. I am convincing myself and my husband that she will probably benefit from interacting with her peers.

Any way suddenly realizing I got only 5 months,  I started contacting some nurseries around my house in panic last week. Thank God I live only 13 minutes away from work because it narrows down my search area and I have found 3 centres.  I have visited one of them (it was so-so) and I will tour another one next Monday. The third said they didn't have an open space for September so I decided to skip the tour.

Our main concern with sending her to a day care is 1) she will now get sick really often and  2) if she turns out to be delayed, she might be left out by kids and teachers. I am willing to even sacrifice my career for Emilia's well-being but honestly making her stay at home with me all day everyday cannot be too good for her.

Only 5 months left to enjoy our lazy days together... I will enjoy and appreciate every day of it.

Finally something has emerged....

Emilia and her second tooth! First I could see a raised bump and a darker line on her lower gum and today when I rub my finger pad on it, I can feel something sharp. But it is too small to be seen with eyes, I think. So far this is the only one that is emerging. I guess the upper ones will be cutting at a later stage. By the way, she's already lost her first tooth (lower incisor) so until she gets permanent teeth, she will be missing a tooth in that spot. :-(

Emilia is 10 months old (actual)

** I didn't mean to write an epic post on the 10 month milestone but because I haven't been able to update regularly, this post ended up being really long with lots of pics/videos. **

Emilia is already 10 months old... though in adjusted age, she is 6 months and 3 weeks. She hasn't gained much weight past ten days or so but today she finally passed the 19 lb mark. I have so much pain in joints - knees especially - from scooping her up from the floor all the time. Now that I am washing her bum in the bathtub whenever she poops (5 times a day, that is), it's more straining on my back and legs.

She's already outgrown size 12 months pants. Lengthwise she's just average but her waist (or her belly) may be too large for age. Yes, she has a pot belly like a middle aged man. Clothes are not the only things she outgrew. She got a new car seat too because the infant car seat was too tight around her shoulders.

She can now sit on the floor for a long time with more stability. This has enabled her to enjoy her toys more and to have a better view of the world around her.

She loves shaking and banging her toys and has learned to spin some of them but best of all, she loves sticking out her tongue to feel them. She's been putting anything and everything in her mouth and has been drooling non-stop. I still can't feel anything on her gumline but the way she's biting and drooling looks like she's ready to cut a tooth pretty soon. (Mind you, it won't be her first tooth since she already had her first tooth (neonatal tooth) when she was in NICU)

Her hands are pretty good at finding her mouth now - she can feed herself mango and milk in a sippy cup (though I need to help her tilt her head back). She can now pick up a soother and put it in her mouth... Ahh, the joy of not having to pick it up for her everytime she spit it out.

Check out the videos below for what she's been up to lately.

Early Intervention service screening

We were visited by our Early Interventionist and a physiotherapist yesterday. The appointment was for a screening assessment to see what EI services Emilia would be eligible for because our CCAC physiotherapist had recently discharged her. The first reaction from the EI and PT was a big wow in amazement that Emilia was so chubby and in good complexion. It made me so proud when they said she didn't look like a preemie born 15 weeks early.

The PT assessed her and said Emilia was at where she should be as a 6 month old baby. She was not concerned about her progress and informed me that we didn't need any service except the EI itself, which would continue to follow Emilia on a regular basis. I wasn't sure whether I should be happy that Emilia is doing well or upset that we didn't qualify for the "free" program. All in all, I knew it was great news that Emilia was doing well: sitting and playing with toys by herself for an extended period of time, strong grips, good muscle tones, etc.

So, one less thing in my calendar that used to be filled with all these appointments with various health care providers: physiotherapist, home nurse, respiratory clinic, RSV clinic, etc. etc. Now all of these are done with! For now, at least.

Emilia rolled over from tummy to back

After all these months, Emilia finally rolled over from tummy to back, THREE times today. I don't know if they were just accidents or she was actually experimenting. Her PT told me not to worry about rolling from tummy to back since she was already rolling from back to tummy, which is supposed to be harder, and is now sitting. Once she starts to crawl, he said, she won't even roll any more. But "I" need her to master this new skill because now she rolls over in the crib before falling asleep or after waking up and when she gets tired on her tummy, she plants her face and falls asleep... or she spits up, plants her face in her spit-up, and then wails. I am hoping that she will be able to get out of the tummy position without my rescue each time.

Any way, she did finally roll over from tummy to back, whether accidentally or not. Maybe she will "get it" in the next few days. How exciting!