looking for advice from NICU moms too!

[Prensa]

please see my thread in special needs, thank you!

any tips on balancing hospital / home with kids at home too?

[2mama]

I guess the balance of things really depends on how close yoy are to the hospital, how much help you have and for how long, how the older ones are handling things, and if you have a pump at home assuming you are breastfeeding..

Take things day by day and assess who needs you most.. I your hospitalized one is currently stable you can spend more time with your homebound kids and go to the hospital more if dc's conition were to change..

As for when to go, if you are okay with going later in the evening and just calling for updates during the day it probably is the best for everyone.. If you are feeling out of the loop request a care confrence with the dr, sw, rn, and case manager.. This can be very insightful.. Visiting during the day is hard because doctors are in and out, tests and procedures are being done and the staff is simply busier. If you call and request updates they have to stop what they are doing and help you, but it works out just as well.. As for your kids at home it would probably help them alot to have mommy there much of the time.. Now of course all this goes out the window when babe is unstable, people are sick, or there is a lack of helpers for the other kids.

Also remember that you said this has no end in sight, so don't where your self or your helpers down.. Keep yourself healthy and well rested so you can be there for your kids and babe..

good luck!

[surprisedmama]

Hugs to you mom. If your baby is well taken care of be easy on yourself! I only went to the hospital once a day sometimes I would stay for multiple feedings other times just one you will know your personal proper balance. Go with your instincts, my baby slept all the time and really didn't notice if I was there or not so I felt fine leaving him and I gave my others the attention they needed. One piece of advice: Once my baby was home I still needed extra help to balance everything and one. Take care and big hugs to you and your baby.

[LaughingHyena]

I found it very helpful to have some kid of routine when visiting the NICU. Once DD started trying to breastfeed the nurses would hold off feeding her when they knew I was about to arrive. If they didn't know when we were coming they would have already fed her.

It also seemed to make communications with the staff easier when they knew we would be around from a-b, they would arrange to chat to us then.

My husband said he quite enjoyed the few times he visited in the early hours of the morning (to deliver more milk) as the unit was a lot quieter. Like a previous poster DD was asleep most of the time whenever we visited anyway.