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I had an opposite situation kind of. My daughter (who was 2.5 at the time) had an accident that resulted in a 17 day hospital stay. We also had a 7 month old at home. My husband would stay from 6:30/7 pm overnight until around 9/10 the next day with her, and then we would switch. The hospital was also about an hour away. It was very draining, so if you can try to make a little time for each of you to get a break.

I have no idea what I would do, but I just want to say that I'm sorry to read about your situation, and I hope that your family is reunited soon.

Oh no! I haven't been in this situation but wanted say I'm sorry you are going through this!
It will pass - I think you just have to get through one hour at a time.

I'm so sorry.

I would split up in 48 hour shifts. Mom at hospital Monday am through Wednesday am. Then switch. Maybe have grandma/grandpa help fill in for the times you switch. Not sure exactly how this would work but it would give one parent enough time to get caught up and settled. If you switch more frequently than that you might be spending too much time driving and too much time trying to update each other as you transfer duties

I'm so so sorry you're going through this, how stressful! I agree with the people who say set up a schedule so one person is always at the hospital. Maybe grandma and grandpa can take some time too to give you a break?

@Ajsmommy: I am so sorry you are in this situation. One of my friends just had her 2nd and he is a 30 wk preemie, so he had quite a long hospital stay. Since she was working before, they already had a nanny and she would get up with her oldest in the morning and do breakfast together, then the nanny would come and my friend would go to the hospital for the day--almost like work hours. Then her husband would go to the hospital after work, and my friend would go home to do dinner and bedtime with her kiddo. Then her husband would come home and the baby stayed in the NICU overnight, and they would repeat.

The baby was in this hospital for 8 week and was just released and doing well. I hope you find a good routine--I can't imagine the stress.

@Ajsmommy: I am so so sorry you are going through this. It is tough to find a balance when your baby is hospitalized and you have another small LO at home. Plus you must still be recovering too.

Last year, I had a 25 week premature baby who was in the NICU for over 3 months. I also had a 2yr old daughter at home. I tried to keep my older LO's schedule as normal as possible. She went to daycare like usual and I'd go to the hospital during the day and then pick her back up. My DH was still working full time and would visit LO 2 during his lunch break. Once or twice a week I'd go back to the hospital during the night for a few hours to spend with LO 2. But for the most part we were not there at night. It is extremely draining and it's important you find time to rest too. The nurses and doctors do a fantastic job of caring for baby. If you might be there for an extended stay, you may want to ask about having a primary nurse. We had a few primary nurses who really cared for my baby during our stay.

I'm so sorry to hear you're going through this. I agree with others. I'd try to divide and conquer and just switch off shifts (though, I'm guessing that's complicated if you're nursing).

@Ajsmommy: thanks for updating. I hope your LO is improving and you will all be home together soon. And I'm so glad you got a spot at the Ronald McDonald House. We stayed at one for a month when LO was born and have been back many times for follow ups. They are an amazing organization!

@Ajsmommy: So sorry to hear you guys are still at the hospital, but glad to hear you might be released soon!

We haven't had to deal with an extended hospital stay like that, but Xander was in the hospital for four days and we did divide and conquer. Usually I stayed with Xander during the day, and then Hubs would come around dinner time and switch with me and I'd spend the night home with Logan. If he had been there longer, we wouldn't started switching days so that one of us could work while the other stayed with him.

Sorry you've had to deal with all this!

@Ajsmommy: sorry LO2 is still in the hospital, but so glad to see he may get to go home soon and the time you all had to spend with LO1 much closer by. Keeping you in prayer!

Great update! Glad you've gone home!