On February 15th it was four years ago that our little one came home from our local children’s hospital. She spent 79 days in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) after deciding she wanted to enter the world 13 weeks early. As some of you know from my previous posts my daughter was a little one at just 2 pounds and 14 inches. She may know be 4 years old and 35 pounds, but she will always be my little one.

I can still remember the day when the team came around to her bedside and said she was able to be released and could come home with us. I cried tears of joy many times that day. We had a few stressful moments over those 79 days, but are very thankful she is now perfectly healthy and has no long term effects of being born so early.

I remember being so nervous coming home with my little bundle and it be our first time without the support of the nurses and having them nearby if I had a question. Of course we checked on her a million times while she slept to make sure she was still breathing, but I am sure that’s what most new parents do. When she was first born E would often stop breathing and we often worried this would come back – it did not though.

It amazes me as I look at her now to see how far she come and how that homecoming seems like only yesterday. Throughout her stay I realized many times how precious life is.