Cecily had swallowed meconium in the final minutes of labour and some had aspirated into her lungs. Before long, she was taken to the NICU at Richmond General and later transferred to Children’s Hospital.

“The doctor talked to us about every possible effect that the delivery could have for her health. We were given lists which explained each test, what would happen depending on the specific results, what we should be looking for. One of the things we were told if there had been oxygen deprivation at birth, Cecily could have an increased risk of developmental delay.”

Proof of her strong will, Cecily made great progress and was discharged when she was 11 days old. “I was determined not to let this bad start for Cecily set the tone for our family,” says Camille. Neither she nor Ian are worriers by nature, so the lists from the doctors were safely tucked away as the couple preferred to adopt a “wait and see” approach to parenting. Follow up appointments for Cecily focused on eating patterns and weight gain as the primary indicators of Cecily’s well-being.

When she was 2 months old, Richmond Public Health referred Cecily to the Richmond Society for Community Living (RSCL) Infant Development Program (IDP). Camille and Ian saw the chance to get more information and ensure that Cecily was on track developmentally as a positive opportunity. As first time parents with no nieces or nephews and few friends with kids, their personal experience was fairly limited. “I preferred not to read books because they often cause more worries than answers. If I wondered something I would usually look for the answer on google. The IDP program was an opportunity to gain information from an expert.”

The following month, IDP Consultant Bergen visited the family in their home. She spent time talking with Camille and Ian about Cecily’s development. Bergen assured the parents that Cecily was on track, meeting most milestones and provided a checklist of what to look for in the coming weeks. “It was so great to gain the confidence to know that what we were doing was right. We were just following our instincts based on our own personal experiences and it turns out we were doing ok! Doctor’s appointments always felt cold and clinical, it was nice to spend time talking with someone who was interested in Cecily, not just her weight gain and appetite.”

The couple is very grateful from the support that Bergen and the IDP program offered to them and doesn’t hesitate to recommend the program to others. “Recently a good friend’s baby was born very prematurely and I assured him that expertise and information offered by IDP would be really helpful should they need it,” says Ian.

Camille shares that “Cecily has a little brother now and is adjusting to being a big sister. It's a tough adjustment at times, but overall she's doing quite well. Whenever she's having a hard time with him I try to remind myself just how hard it must be to suddenly have to share mom and dad.” She's clever as ever. We read books that I think are quite advanced for 2 years old and she is really into spelling and counting. She likes to ask me how to spell new words and counts into the 20s. She has a great attention span and imagination. She's taking dance and soccer classes. We're having a blast together. I'm loving being on another mat leave and spending time with her and her little brother. Life's pretty good these days.”

For this family, the plan is to continue to explore the world through the eyes of their children and watch them learn and grow.

Find out more about the RSCL Infant Development Program and other Richmond programs at Richmond Kids: Health and Child Development
https://www.richmondkids.ca/en/programs/health-early-child-development

RSCL Infant Development Program services are currently available in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese. For more information, please visit http://www.rscl.org/infant-development-program/