November 11th has always been a significant day because it is the day that we, as a nation pay our respects and give thanks to all the soldiers and civilians who made sacrifices in times of war. Most importantly, it is the day that we remember the end of World War I (November 1, 1918).

Remembrance Day/November 11th turned into a day I would never forget because that was the day Little One torpedoed out into the world. It was scary, shocking, and exciting all at once. I'm sure she will never hear the end of all the "On the day you were born" stories we will tell her every year! Really and truly, it was pretty crazy.

Hubby was already en route back to the Island from a weekend visiting me at Mount Sinai Hospital. Though we were told the baby would definitely be born preterm, we didn't really believe it would be that preterm! I was so worried that he wouldn't make it back in time for the birth of "Junior". He still thought we were having a boy, and I was half convinced "Junior" might be a girl. I guess there was a 50-50 chance one of us was right!

When I started feeling funny around 2AM, things started quickly from then on. Hubby had to do a complete turn around and drive back south to Toronto. Poor guy.

Having a baby is supposed to be an exciting thing. It was exciting, yet terrifying because Little One was just so...early! She certainly kept us busy right from the very beginning! I imagine that under normal circumstances, parents would be eagerly awaiting this moment. I was, but at the same time I kept thinking, "It's too soon. It's too soon". The nurses assured me that the doctors, nurses, RTs, and staff at Mount Sinai do this every day. My nurse told me "This is what they specialize in. This is what they do best. This is the best place for you to be right now. Do not worry. Babies are born here much earlier than your baby". She even told me that one of "her babies" was born at 24 weeks and was perfectly fine. Of course she needed assistance with breathing, had to be fed by NG tube for a while, and required lazer eye surgery. Other than that, she was perfectly fine. It was reassuring to me to hear all the success stories, but the reality of a baby born so early still scared me. I think it's all the "what ifs" that can drive a person crazy. I even asked Hubby what if our baby had brain problems, respiratory issues, etc? His response was, "It's in God's hands and we will just have to deal with it".

It makes me cry thinking about where we were this time last year. I was in a lot of pain and Little One literally flew out with no doctors in the room! A Code Pink was called and the medical team rushed in almost immediately. It was crazy.

I cannot believe that this all happened on this day a year ago. Now Little One is celebrating her first birthday. She's a year old! Well, still only 9 months old (corrected age). She's come so far and is perfectly healthy. She's done a lot of growing and learning in the past 12 months! What a wild year it's been!

*Code Pink: The emergency code used for a medical emergency in an infant (less than 1 month). Code Pink Team: ED Physician, Neonatologist, RTs, NICU staff, 1st/2nd person on scene.