First

This is my firstborn, Chloe. She turns 9 this year, which of course means she is in Primary 3. It seems like an eternity ago when she was born, an event which turned out to be more exciting than we anticipated or hoped for. See, my wife and I were shopping for a new table for our home, she having been pregnant for just under 34 weeks. The full term for a baby is at 40 weeks, but a baby born before 37 weeks is considered premature.

So there we were, having just bought our table, when my wife had to go to the toilet. When she came out, she told me that she seemed to be leaking urine, but it didn't smell like urine. We hurriedly went back home, verified that it probably wasn't urine(don't ask me how), which meant that it was likely that her water bag had broken. She called the hospital, which asked her to check in to the labour ward immediately. I of course maintained my composure, and calmly told my panicking wife to cool down, everything will be alright, and drove her straight to the hospital. If you happen to know my wife, and heard a different story, about how I was the one who panicked and ran up and down the house like a madman, that was a lie. A blatant lie, I tell ya!

Anyhoo, everything turned out fine, and our baby girl was born 2 days later, at a tiny 1.950kg. My goodness, that feeling when I first held her in my arms. Fathers will know it. It just felt so amazing and miraculous that I was holding a little bundle of life that had a part of me coursing through her veins, that I helped bring this life into existence. It was something I will never forget.

Unfortunately, because she was premature, she was kept in the high dependency ward for the most of the first 1-2 weeks, and we were unable to take too many pictures. After a quick rummaging, this is one of the earliest pictures of her, at about 1 month:

As time went, she grew,

and grew,

and grew,

and grew.

And now she is 9(see first pic at beginning of post). All these years, there was so much joy, a lot of tears, ups and downs, but importantly, we grew together. I learnt, and am still learning, how to be a better father to her everyday, and even though there are days when things don't go so well, when we are not laughing together, I thank God that our bond grows stronger and stronger, and I can see in her eyes that she knows I love her with all my heart. One day, of course, she will have her own family, and will not be with my wife and myself in the way she is now, but I cherish every moment I have with her right now, and I try to build as beautiful a memory as I can of her childhood for her.

Love you, sweetie.