nicu babies

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR BABY JOY! Well my pregnancy was a surprise in itself byt was born at 34.4 weeks.  She stayed in neonatal for 4 weeks and the staff there are VERY EFFICIENT. They assign a nurse every day to your child who is the only one who will look after your child that day..when shift changes they tell the next person whats been going on, whats gonna go on etc.  You can still breastfeed if that's what you want as it is still encouraged.  They will let you go after a certain weight has been reached. My dd was on cpap (oxygen?) for only the first night, but yeh an overall pleasant (as it can be) experience....

GOOD LUCK!

Congratulations on your baby.

It is gonna be hard.  My oldest was a 34 weeker, she spent 11 days in the NICU.  She exceeded expectations.  And it was still hard.  Not taking a baby home, yet.  Someone else in charge of the care of your baby.  Someone making decisions when you are not there.  Find support.  Your husband,your mother, your best friend whoever.  When he is breathing well on his own, they will send him home.   And things will get easier. 

We had a great team when my oldest was in the NICU, and we knew she was going to be there. But it was hard, but so rewarding in the end.  The Nurses were great and the hospital staff worked with us to make sure we had what we needed.  Ask for it if you need something, they are there to help you.

Good Luck. It won't be too long before you are home.

I'm sure you'll get some great advice... My tid bit is to remember that fathers deal with nice babies much differently than mom does and that's ok. My first was born at 32 weeks. I was at the hospital every chance I got, I wanted all the updates and would call to check in if I was having trouble sleeping at home. My dh would take me to the hospital and sit in the waiting room (not all the time but if i was there for 2-3 hoursafter about an hour hed take some time). He couldn't deal with the helpless feeling, he couldn't process the extra stress and worry, so in order to be supportive he would take a time out. It took a few days (and a wonderful nurse) to figure out what was going on. I guess my point is don't expect dad to react the same way or to the same degree of involvement you do. It's NOT that they dont love or want to see the baby it's that's it's too overwhelming.