How to Take Care of Yourself While Your Baby is in the NICU

How to Take Care of Yourself While Your Baby is in the NICU

After a pregnancy is cut short by premature labor a new mom may be left feeling completely off-kilter, out of sorts, stressed and maybe even depressed. That little life that was growing so wonderfully inside you has made an early exit, and you and your body are both confused.

When you have to actually leave the hospital, with your baby still in the hospital's NICU, you will feel the absence. You never pictured baby's arrival happening this way.

"It's not supposed to be like this," you'll hear yourself saying to your partner or to your family.

Leaving your premature baby in the hospital may happen when you are discharged and the hospital does not have an overnight room for parents of preemie babies. Even if there are accommodations, they may be booked.

It's okay to go home and collect yourself while the premature baby is in the hospital's NICU. You need to take care of you, too, otherwise how can you give the premature baby the care he or she needs while in the NICU and when he or she comes home.

The hardest thing to think about after a baby comes early is yourself. Eating? Showering? Sleeping? These everyday activities you do by rote will become near Herculean chores, because each one means time away from the baby.

New parents of NICU babies have to force themselves, and encourage each other do continue with as many "normal" daily activities as possible.

1. Get Some Well-Deserved Shut Eye

New parents of NICU babies need sleep. If there are no actual rooms with beds at the hospital, go home and sleep at night. Some hospitals have rooms for pumping, which can also be used for resting and taking naps during the day. When the premature baby is sleeping in the NICU, and the hospital has these rooms, take advantage of them. Rest up now.

2. Nourish Your Body

It is hard for a new mom to find time to eat, even when the baby is safe in the NICU. Eating is essential to keeping up your energy and your spirits. You also need to keep eating healthy if you are breastfeeding or breast pumping for the NICU baby.

3. Keep Taking Pre-Natal Vitamins