My dd was born at 30 weeks due to iugr; in uterine growth retardation caused by preeclampsia.
She was in hospital for almost 2 months. It was a long slog but she was not ill in any other way so there were no complications.
In preparation for premature delivery I was given steroid injections and my dh and I were shown around the neonatal unit. I also started to manually collect and freeze collostrum. I was provided with leaflets, syringes to collect it in as you only get a few drops each time and shown how to store it in the nicu freezer ready for my dd.
When my dd was delivered by csection my dh and mum were allowed to see her in the theatre antechamber for a few seconds before she was taken to nicu.
I then went into recovery and did not see my dd until the next day but my dh and mum were able to visit nicu before me.
When i first visited my dd i knew vaguely what to expect from the tour we had been given, but my emotions were all over the place and i could not stop crying and i have a vivid memory of being very embarrased to be there in that state.
Generally babys born at 30+ weeks have an excellent rate of survival.
At that age gestation the babys are normally only wearing a nappy and will be nested in rolled up towels or blankets. They may be covered with a bubblewrap blanket in a heated incubator with holes in the side which you can open. My dd had many tubes and wires attached; heartrate monitor, i.v., cpap breathing apperatus, under bluelight for jaundice. This is all pretty normal.
You will have to wash your hand a lot, (get a good handcream) you are allowed to take photos of your babies. If you can at all it is best to give at least some breastmilk as it prevents horrible gut issues. You should be able to rent cheaply a hospital grade breast pump. There may be cheap or free on site accomodation for you to be close by if you are discharged yourself.
As a parent you will be able to visit whenever you want (even in the middle of the night) but may be asked to leave the room when the drs do their rounds to respect privacy. You will be able to hold your babies quite quickly even if there are wires and tubes. Nicu nurses will help you but they want to encourage the parents to do the caring to create the bond so you will be expected to change nappys and tube feed if they have a tube into their stomachs. Tiny babys are delicate and it can be scary, but they will benefit greatly from your touch; laying your hand quietly on their head or back.
It was difficult for me to be on the postnatal ward with all the other mums and babys but nicu units normally will have a lounge you can use to get away from the other people.
My main tip would be to take care of yourself. The babys in the Nicu are very well cared for, but after the baby is out the mother is forgotten about sometimes it seems. My situation was I didnt want to be in the hospital anymore. I was admitted 2 weeks before and remained there until 2 weeks after so i had really had enough.
I wanted to see my dd but i didnt want to camp out there after i had been discharged like other mothers did. Whatever you feel like doing is fine and dont feel guilty about it.
Sorry for the long post. It happened to me almost 3 years ago, but I will never forget it. There are many more details I can recall but probably everyones experience will be different.
There's a lot of support available in the nicu units through the experienced staff and also charities like Bliss so use them if you need to. I hope it goes ok for you all!