Sam was full term IRDS (Infant Respiratory Distress Syndrome) as well. He looks so big compared to the other babies. I couldn't see his face at all for the first week. They had like an ice cream container with a big hole cut in the side and 'drapes' over that part to keep the oxygen in. I swear they waited for me to leave to do anything they had to take it off for. I will give them some credit that when he changed rooms and I could feed him they woke me up every other hour to go give him a feed. Nepean NICU has a couple of stay rooms for parents, so I didn't have to leave without him. I will say I was probably lucky though as there were not many babies, and in the room they get moved into for basic observation he was the only baby there so I got to have a ridiculous amount of bonding time with him without getting in anyone elses way.

They were pretty good up at the ward though. They put me in a room with another NICU mum so we were not surrounded by other new mums and their beautiful babies.

All in all, its an experience I am more than happy to leave as a one off!