If you brought one twin home before the other...

nej2000

Can you share how you handled your schedule at home and for hospital visits? I think one of my boys will be discharged today, but the other has about a week left. DH and I are just trying to figure out how we're going to manage care-taking the baby at home and giving enough attention to the little guy still in the NICU?

Any tips??

TIA

tSquared1987

Our boys came home 10 days apart. It definately wasn't the easiest, but it's managable. We didn't want to take Taylen out of the house once he got there (besides dr visits) so he had to stay at home while one of us went to the NICU. The hospital is an hour away from our home, but one of us was there at least every other day. When we went together we had my mom come and watch Taylen.

My mom really understood how important it was to keep Taylen on his schedule so I wasn't worried about it when I was gone. I tried to schedule time to go see Tage when he was being fed so I could do that, and also do baths. The nurses were really accommodating to us. And when we weren't able to get there, I called at least 10 times a day to check on him. lol

Just do your best and that's all you can do. I'm sure you and DH will do great. Congrats on bringing one home and I hope your 2nd boy comes home very soon! GL

JanuaryBride2007

My girls came home 2 months apart! Basically what we did was I was home with Rebecca all day from 7-3. My MIL would come over around 2:30pm. Once DH got home at 3pm, we would leave to the hospital. Our hospital was also about an hour away so we only had about 2 hours to spend with Kayla every day but we still made the trek to see her. At home, MIL would stick to our feeding schedule that we had up on our fridge. God bless my MIL b/c Rebecca had some wicked Reflux at that time and MIL would tell us that Rebecca would cry the whole time we were gone. =( We would try to make it home by about 6:30 but we always seemed to get stuck in traffic on the way home. Gotta love rush hour!

 

Congrats on bringing one of your babies home!! I am sure your other LO will be home soon. =D

shegak

My first set of twins came home a week apart.  My son came home first, and my daughter had to stay in the NICU due to apnea spells.  

 I was very lucky that my MIL came to stay with us for almost 2 months, so I left my son home with her during the day while I went to the hospital to be with my daughter.  I was breast feeding (not exclusively though- they were supplemented wiht high-calorie formula as well to help them gain weight) so I'd feed my son and pump in the morning, then leave for the NICU around 9 am.  I'd spend the majority of the day with my daughter while MIL was home with my son, then around dinner time I'd come home.  My husband was back to work by then, and he'd meet me at the hospital after work for a few hours to be with our daughter.  Luckily it was only a week so we didn't have to do too much juggling, but I remember feeling guilty for leaving each baby and feeling sad and stressed that we all weren't together.  (I hope to avoid this scenario with this new set of twins!)

Congrats!  Best of luck!!! 

Haven1

I only had to do it for four days, but I just took DS2 with me.  It was the middle of the summer.  Not sure what I would have done this time of year.  They left his crib up in their NICU room, so he just slept in there and tandum nursed with us.

Arrive at hospital for 9a feeding.  Eat, pump, rock, until 12p feeding.  Go back home to recharge (I'd run errands when they were both in the NICU) and come back for the 3p feeding.  DH and I would eat dinner together at home before going back up for the 9p feeding. 

Thankfully, my hospital was eight minutes away.  I found the back and forth/packing and unpacking to actually be helpful.  Sitting in that quiet, dark, warm NICU room staring at monitors for hours was draining for me.  The nurses really encouraged letting them sleep in their boxes as much as possible, so there was only so much I could do if they weren't eating.  Getting fresh air and sunshine was critical to my sanity.

caitdana

Sorry this is going to be a very honest answer. I cry every day. Sophia came home at 77 days (i think, I will have to go back and look). Ella is on day 97 today and had a spell last night and a questionable echo yesterday. I also have been working. I am running myself ragged. I cry all the time. I feel guilty for loving on Sophia and leaving her with my family to go see Ella. I feel more awful that Ella is still there. I dont feel as connected to Ella because I cannot be there. I feel like it is so much harder to have them seperate than it was to have them both in there.  My schedule is get up at 5ish to feed Sophia get ready and be at work by 7. Call a million times to the hospital to micro manage them and also my husband who is keeping Sophia. Get off work at 3:30 meet my hubby to pick up sophia. Run home do a load of laundry, pick up blankets and milk and such to take to the hospital. Feed Sophia at 5. Eat something and make it to the hospital by 7:30 to feed Ella at 8. Spend 1-2 hours there then come home feed SOphia again and wait till DH gets home. I hate it, I have no time for me, or anyone else for that matter. If it is not second nature to me right now I cannot do it. I tried to go somewhere new to eat the other day and it was like my brain could not process. There are some days that I dont know how I am going to survive it. My tips are take all the help you can get. Dont turn anyone down or be too proud. Try to find something nice to do for yourself.  Get a hair cut, nails done,  etc. Good luck!