Request a primary nurse for your babe

With your babe in the NICU 24/7, you lot'll encounter a lot of nurses passing by the isolette. It can be difficult to adjust to and then many unlike styles of infant intendance. One thing you can do to reduce the anarchy is request a primary nurse for your baby. This means whenever the nurse you choose as your primary is on duty, she's the one in charge of your baby. The advantage is that there's less turnover, and one nurse has greater noesis of y'all and your preemie.

Once yous decide on a nurse you want to "main" your babe, first tell the nurse you lot'd like her to do it, then ask the NICU managing director or supervising nurse for approving. The nursing schedule will then be adjusted.

Dive in on taking care of your baby

With so many capable nurses around, it can seem intimidating, or simply unnecessary, for you to get involved with diapering, swaddling, and bathing your babe. But don't exist shy – NICU nurses see bumbling new parents every day. And it's both important and therapeutic for parents to help care for their baby.

"Doing equally many of the routine tasks as I could for my twins in the NICU helped me feel needed," says Jennifer Gunter, an ob-gyn and author of The Preemie Primer. "Kangaroo care was key for developing my sense of connection, besides."

Y'all likewise take the advantage of learning how to care for your baby from a whole squad of pros before you have to go it solitary. So use this fourth dimension to get upwardly to speed: Inquire your nurses to evidence you how to practice what they're doing. Most are happy to do so.

newborn drinking from a bottle

What parents tin do for their preemie in the NICU and why their aid is so important.

"I slowly innovate new parents to baby intendance tasks, so they can get comfortable with their babies," says Tenielle Langevin, a children'southward nurse in Springfield, Massachusetts. "I start with teaching them how to change a diaper. Then I move on to taking the infant'southward temperature and kangaroo care. In some cases, I also teach parents about medication, since some will take habitation a baby who all the same needs oxygen and lots of medications."

It's possible y'all'll need to speak up to get involved. One BabyCenter mom says, "I was at that place equally much as possible. I changed my baby's diaper. I bathed her. And when she started eating, I was the i who fed her. This was not the norm at my NICU, and those were things I fought for. The nurses didn't always appreciate my involvement, just they got used to it."

Be upfront about any issues with the staff

If you have any sort of problem with a nurse, your best bet is to speak to her honestly and politely.

"We listen to what parents say," says Langevin. "We're always trying to modify things to accommodate parents. NICUs now take the family'southward thoughts into account more than we did a generation ago, when the focus was just on the preemie. We're getting at that place, but nosotros tin can all utilize a reminder."

Sometimes you might take to go to the next level – either considering it feels intimidating to complain directly to the nurse or because the problem isn't getting fixed. Then it'due south time to become to the nurse'southward supervisor or the NICU director.

"We had to ask that the night nurse not gavage [tube feed] our twins' feedings," says i BabyCenter mom. "It was setting them back to not nipple those feedings, but it kept happening. We finally talked to the physician in charge and it got much better."

Many parents don't realize you can also request that a detail nurse not care for your baby, if you disagree with her techniques. Put in a request like this with the supervising nurse or your primary doctor.

Be the skilful on your baby

You are the skilful on your baby'due south particular quirks and preferences. You might observe, for instance, that your baby has responded really well to certain soothing techniques a nurse has used or that his heart rate jumps when his diaper is changed in a sure way.

NICU nurses and doctors admit that parents often notice before they practise that their child isn't acting right. You lot're keyed in to your baby'due south likes and dislikes, while the staff cares for dozens of babies a 24-hour interval. Make a list for nurses – especially newer ones – of what your baby tolerates and doesn't tolerate.

Ask anything

You're entitled to know every single thing about your preemie. In virtually cases, if in that location's something yous don't know or if you're confused by something y'all overheard, it's non that anyone is trying to keep you in the dark – more than likely, they recall you already know and understand.

So don't be afraid to ask for information. "We encourage our parents to say to the medical squad, 'I need to sit downwardly with you lot and become over, caput to toe, what's going on with my baby. What are our goals for today and this week?" says Edie Mead, a NICU social worker in Washington, D.C. "There is no question that is inappropriate to ask."

Keep a running list of your questions when they occur to yous – whether information technology'southward in the middle of the night or when a relative asks something you lot tin't answer – then pull bated a nurse or doctor at your offset opportunity.

A hospital social worker tin can be a corking aid in facilitating meetings with your baby's medical team.

Don't exist shy about getting a 2d stance

If you take concerns about any attribute of your baby's intendance – major or pocket-sized – you shouldn't hesitate to get a 2d opinion.

"You lot take to exist persistent," says one BabyCenter mom. "I'grand an OB nurse and bargain with preemies a lot. I knew that I wanted my 33-weeker not to get a feeding tube – but the staff was insisting on it. My response was, run across what my baby tin exercise, and go from in that location. In the end, my infant never got a tube and left the NICU exclusively breastfeeding."

Some other BabyCenter mom also credits going against the tide with her child's progress: "When a major wellness problem arose, I pushed for a solution that was not our doctor'due south first choice. We consulted with two other docs and followed their advice instead. It was a riskier option, only the long-term results were improve."

Push for a improve bed for your baby – or yourself

You can enquire to motility your baby to a unlike room if yours seems unreasonably crowded or chaotic. For example, if there's a big family that always has several members visiting, it may make information technology hard for you to breastfeed or for your baby to rest. If your baby is jaundiced, you lot tin ask for a spot by a window – sunlight helps with the jaundice.

Some NICUs also have rooms where parents can stay the nighttime if they like. Ask your social worker to find out how to become 1 of these rooms – you may go preference if you alive far abroad or if your baby is in serious problem.

Take advantage of the experts in the NICU

The NICU is full of people who tin can assist you with any sort of problem, so don't be shy. Enquire to talk to a social worker to detect out what kind of financial help you might qualify for, too.

And exist sure to go the assist of a lactation consultant. Breastfeeding a preemie is often tricky. A lactation consultant can help make sure your milk supply is plentiful and your baby learns to breastfeed as soon as he's able. This way, your babe volition get stronger faster, and when yous take him home, yous'll be an experienced nurser.