Nights

Quite a few people ask us if we get any sleep these days, and if we do, how much? The answer is that "we do all right". We have a great deal to thank the night staff here for that.

Since we moved out of the ICU to our own room at the neonatal ward, more and more of the babies care is something we do our self; feeding, changing dipers, checking their temperature, and so on. You can say It's a bit of a training camp to be ready when we get home.

But feeding the babies every other hour through the night (and through the day) would be exhausting pretty soon. This is where the staff step in.

Every night at about 9.30 the night staff walks from room to room and asks what support they can give during the night. We usually ask for help with feeding at 1 and 5 AM, and in addition help heating the food at 3 AM. (We're usually awake at about that time, since Anna needs to use the breast pump once in the middle of the night.)

So during the last couple of nights we've experienced the following twice every night: Three of the night staff quietly sneak into our room and pick up a baby each and then leave the room as quietly as they entered it. I suppose that they return some 20 minutes later in a similar fashion - but I haven't seen or heard it myself - I've been asleep! And the kids must have been fed, since they continue to sleep!

This way we have been able to get some 6-7 hours of sleep every night! THANK YOU, NIGHT STAFF! :-D