Mmmmm. Tasty magazine!

Well. I know we haven't baby-proofed the house because Emilia is not exactly crawling yet but I have to now remember not to leave things on the floor within her reach. She can turn 360 degrees so fast and also belly crawl inches forward and backward. Well... This morning I was reading a magazine beside her playmat and then went to the bathroom leaving the magazine behind me without even thinking. While in the bathroom, I heard the sound of  paper being ripped, and when I ran back to her, she had already ripped out a page and eaten a part of it. I could see the paper all wet and crumpled, partly dissolved in her mouth but when I tried to make her spit it out, she wouldn't let it go.

Was she that starving??

Emilia turned one year old today!

Look who's one year old now!

We are so grateful that Emilia has been incredibly healthy despite her rough start in life.
She weighs over 9.5kg and is about 70cm tall. What a transformation from a tiny 870g baby.

Happy birthday, Emilia!

(And the official party will be this Sunday with lots of family and friends)

"Trying" to crawl

Emilia is not yet crawling. She's 8 months and 2 weeks old corrected today. I don't expect her to crawl like a champ too soon, being a preemie and also because not all babies crawl by 8 months of age. I try to keep challenging her though, putting her toys far away from her.

Recently I noitce she tries to crawl when she's on her tummy. Not really crawl but you know belly-crawl. Sometimes she would do commando-crawl too. When she tries to crawl, she ends up moving backward but people tell me that is what they do at the beginning. She would keep sliding backward, intentionally or unintentionally, and yesterday she ended up under the chest of drawers in her room. It was funny how she was looking at me under the furniture.

Open wide~

It is so funny how she anticipates food as soon as she sees me with her bowl and spoon.
She opens her mouth really wide, sometimes with her eyes squeezed shut because she opens her mouth so big.

(I thought I published this video more than a week ago... had no idea it was still in Draft)

This time last year

Emilia's turning one on May 31 - that's only a week away. We are going to celebrate it on June 3rd, which is Sunday so that people working on Saturdays can attend. Lots of things to prepare.... the full birthday coverage will be posted after the party.

Like so many moms of preemies, I keep saying my child's birth is a bittersweet memory and it truly is.

On May 25 last year, I went into have my second trimester anatomy ultrasound and then found that I was dilated and was sent to the hospital. My OB/GYN was on call in L&D at North York General at the time. After she checked me, she declared I was 3cm dilated and had to be on bed rest thereafter. However, because NYG didn't have Level 3 NICU, they were going to transfer me to the next available hospital with Level 3 NICU. There are three Level 3 NICUs in the city but only two of them have L&D (the third one is Sick Kids Hospital). If not available in Toronto, they would transport me to any hospital in Ontario and as far as Buffalo. Now looking back, I was so fortunate that a bed space at Mount Sinai Hospital freed up the next day. It's one of the best hospitals and it's downtown, only 5 minute walk from my husband's office.

Well, I was on bed rest only for 6 days. At least I passed the 24 week mark. I was praying I would be able to make it to 28 weeks but I couldn't even make it 26 weeks. And the rest is history.