Day 40

Nate is 30 weeks today! I can't believe he's been with us for nearly 6 weeks already. Time is going by so fast. Nate's nurse today was one of the nurses that was with Nate and Ellie during their first week. She was there the day I got to see them for the first time. I hadn't seen her since until today. She was one of our favorite nurses during that very difficult week and seeing her today reminds me just how far we have come this past month. Nate had a quiet morning. The doctor was very pleased with him when she came in to see him and said she's not changing a thing. We like days that allow Nate to just rest and grow. Those are days that mom and dad get to relax a little bit too :) I was able to talk with one of the nurses yesterday about some of the things that we can expect when Nate comes home. Apparently life at home with a premie like Nate is a lot different than life with a healthy baby. She said he'll have chronic lung disease. If everything keeps going well, he'll grow out of it once he hits about age 8 but the first couple of years are going to be difficult. We are going to have to be very very careful not to get Nate sick. A tiny cold to us can mean months in the hospital and could be fatal for his sick little lungs.  Nate is going to have to stay home with very limited visitors for the first 2 years of his life. No church, no grocery store, no playdates, no children over at our house, and no adults that have been exposed to even the tiniest sniffle. I knew that we were going to have to be careful but I don't think I realized just how different our lives are going to be.