Routine

I realized that I had fallen into a daily routine. I would usually pump once overnight in order to give myself some extra sleep, and then starting in the morning, every 3 hours until I went to bed. In the beginning I used a single pump so one session took upwards of 45 minutes to an hour; between getting things set up, pumping for 20 minutes on each side, and then storing and labelling freezer bags and cleaning the pump and bottles.

In the morning I would first pump, have breakfast, and then shower. After I was changed I would put some things in a bag; usually a book, crossword, agenda, camera, water bottle, and snack. I would head to the hospital and park in pretty much the same spot each day. I'd walk through the halls and often pass the same staff going in the opposite direction. It was usually quite busy when I arrived during the week as it was around shift change (8 a.m.) and the start of visiting hours. Although the NICU did not have visiting hours for parents; we were allowed there anytime except during shift change morning and night.

I would then stay with my son, helping with feeds, diaper changes, and anything else I could, until about 1 p.m. In between I would have to pump, usually sometime between 10 and 11. Just after 1, I would either head out to do errands or go home and lie down for an hour, prior to being back at the hospital for 2:30/3. During this time I would try to remember to eat something, and would usually have to try to fit a pump session in. And there were definitely days that I had to leave the hospital earlier because I found it so upsetting, but on average I stayed there most of the day.

I would then leave the hospital again at about 5/5:30 so I could be home when my husband arrived from work. We would eat dinner, I would usually pump, and then we would head to the hospital following shift change in order to meet our son's night nurse, hold him for a little while, and say goodnight to him. My husband did not always come with me to this one as he found the hospital extremely difficult; which I could understand.

Once we arrived back home, I would pump before bed, and then try to get some sleep. The next day it started all over again.