Our nursery is called home by many moms and babies. Some stay for a few days, some a few hours, and most who come, stay for weeks. Most often babies start very small, about 3-4 lbs and grow from there. The babies who start at about 4 lbs tend to do okay, while those who start a little smaller tend to have a harder time growing. The care and attention that the mom's give to their babies is a key factor in how well they do. They need fed every 3 hours with diaper changes and baths in between. The moms definitely stay busy and there have been times in early morning when I find moms sleeping sitting up in a chair, or laying their head against the bassinet trying to catch a few moments of sleep before their baby wakes up.
Thankfully a lot of our babies do really well, despite not having all the modern technology that you would find in a US nursery or NICU. All we have is oxygen, IV fluids and antibiotics and lots of love, but the babies do pretty well. Just today I got to discharge 2 babies who have spend a month in our nursery growing from 3 to 4 lbs and getting up to almost 5 lbs. It is always great to send the babies home. Their moms anxiously awaiting that date when they can go home and be with the rest of their family and take their son or daughter with them. 
