I hate not being able to snuggle with him at night

AquaFlowers

I miss the newborn life like with DS. The lack of sleep, the cuddles, the constant BFing. I hate pumping and not being able to feed my son directly. I just want him home how did you ladies cope with not being able to see LO 24/7? I hate not knowing if he's alright.

3litttlebirds

I stayed at the NICU a lot during the day (like around 8 hours) and was able to do about 2 or 3 feedings each day. I called every night before bed to check on DS and called in the mornings when I first got up. It definitely sucks, but just keep in mind LO is being well taken of, is where he needs to be right now, and it's only a relatively short time in the grand scheme of things. It will get better!

Brummy14

Ditto PPs comments -- granted, the girls are my first children so I don't have that perspective/comparison. I spend upwards of 6 hours a day in the NICU, and get to feed both twice if they're awake and willing. Otherwise, I get to snuggle with them each a bunch between feedings and pumping sessions (which I get to do bedside now that I don't give a crap who sees me topless anymore. Lol. Yes, I'm partially behind screens and all, but the nurses assigned to the babies always get the full on view. Lol. So I'm always with the babies!)

DH calls the night nurse every night before I go to bed, so I always have the latest info....and while I've never done it, our night nurses encouraged calling during the middle of the night pumping sessions, too.  

rslhmg

I was lucky enough to stay at a Ronald mcdonald house 2 blocks from the hospital so if I got antsy I could just go right over and see DD. I was there all hours. I had to come home twice for appointments and I called them almost hourly to check on her. She's my first so I didnt have the bringing baby home with me experience, though it was really hard hearing about all my friends going home with baby. I cried a lot, I still get a little jealous every now and again, but it gets easier with time.

Pips09

I went to the hospital every day, and called to check in when I wasn't there. I also spent some time finishing the nursery and purchasing things, since I was not prepared to deliver early and this helped me feel better. I only have one child, so I do not have a frame of reference to compare to bringing home a newborn. I'm still a little bitter about it, and have jealousy issues with other friends and relatives having a normal experience. I guess I expect time to heal it, but I have worked on just accepting that I did not have the experience that I wanted/expected.

PhillyGal34

DS was my first but I had a rough time with this while he was in NICU.  I was sad that I had to be up pumping instead of holding him.  I didn't know any different but I knew it wasn't right.  It helped me to cope by realizing that even if I wasn't there with him I was doing something for him by pumping at night so I just kind of pretended that he knew I was up feeding him while he was at NICU being fed by nurses instead. Just know that he is surrounded by amazing skilled people.  They aren't you of course but if you are as lucky as we were they care about him like he was their own... as much as they can at least.  Our nurses were very respectful of us as the parents but also made sure we knew that they were there when we couldn't be.

 Wow I just burst out in tears. I haven't thought about this for a while I guess... it was really hard.  It still is when I look back and think about it.   Thank god my door is closed because I'm pumping at work so no one can see me sitting here puffy eyed!

 

HUGS! 

AquaFlowers

PhillyGal34:

DS was my first but I had a rough time with this while he was in NICU.  I was sad that I had to be up pumping instead of holding him.  I didn't know any different but I knew it wasn't right.  It helped me to cope by realizing that even if I wasn't there with him I was doing something for him by pumping at night so I just kind of pretended that he knew I was up feeding him while he was at NICU being fed by nurses instead. Just know that he is surrounded by amazing skilled people.  They aren't you of course but if you are as lucky as we were they care about him like he was their own... as much as they can at least.  Our nurses were very respectful of us as the parents but also made sure we knew that they were there when we couldn't be.

 Wow I just burst out in tears. I haven't thought about this for a while I guess... it was really hard.  It still is when I look back and think about it.   Thank god my door is closed because I'm pumping at work so no one can see me sitting here puffy eyed!

 

HUGS! 

so glad I'm not alone in feeling like this! Hugs to you too, I start crying over memories a lot too  

rjade9

I felt the exact same way and it is super hard when you have another lo at home because you always feel like you're not giving someone enough of your time.  I went up as much as I could but soon realized I had to let myself get some rest and spend time at home also.  I called a ton when I wasn't there, every 4 hours about.  At first I felt bad about calling so often but then I told myself it's my fricken baby of course I want to know what's going on! 

Have pictures at home helps, the calling helps, do fun things when you're at home with ds and dh or sleep!  I hope your stay isn't too much longer!