Night Nurse - Who had one?

CanadianJulyBri · October 2011

Just wondering - because I just read a post with a bumpie talking about the one they hired... Is this common where you live?

How much does it cost?

How many nights did you hire her for? What exactly does she do?

TIA!

HappyAardvark · October 2011

At least one girl on Oct 2011 - you could try xp'ing there

LindsayNY · October 2011

I'm an August '11 mom who had a Baby Nurse. We had her 24/7 for two weeks once I came home from the hospital. Baby Nurses are extremely common in my area (NYC), I don't know anyone who didn't have one.

She was absolutely amazing! It was like having a private tutor for two weeks. She got DS on a 3 hour feeding schedule and he was sleeping 6+ hour stretches at night by the time she left (typically 8-8:30pm to 2:30-3am, waking to feed and then back to sleep until around 7am at 2.5 weeks old.) He now pretty much sleeps through the night at 11 weeks: 8-8:30pm to around 7am

Rates can range but most people I know paid $175-$250 a day.

iahlgren · October 2011

People in NYC hire baby nurses. Although I didn't do it, my understanding is that they feed the baby at night, help put them on a feeding schedule, etc. Some will teach you how to do stuff, but others will just take care of the baby. Cost varies, but I believe it is around $200 per day.

Liz4444 · October 2011

We have a baby nurse, we are in north NJ. Like the 2 PP, everyone around here gets one. She is here for 4 weeks, 24/7 (she did take this past weekend off), she does all of the nighttime feedings, takes care of the baby (changes diapers, baths, etc), teaches me how to take care of the baby and is teaching me what to do at different age milestones, and is starting sleep training and teaching me how to do that. She also helped with breast feeding. She is a godsend, I'm nervous for when she leaves! She gets $250 a day (plus food).

Tara415 · October 2011

OMG! I wish I had known about this option. I have a pretty good understanding of infants, and did my best, but that would have made things so much easier! DH stayed home for a week, but he was usless. He's never changed a diaper before, know nothing about babies, wouldn't hear LO at night when he'd cry...

Brownie_222 · October 2011

Sounds very nice but I definitely couldn't afford it!

mrsdoodlebug · October 2011

I looked into it in the Philly area and it was $125 a night.

jayhawkgirl25 · October 2011

Are you kidding me? I would never pay someone else to take night shifts with my newborn just so I get some sleep. They are only newborns for a short amount of time.

magpiebride61210 · October 2011

jayhawkgirl25:
Are you kidding me? I would never pay someone else to take night shifts with my newborn just so I get some sleep. They are only newborns for a short amount of time.

for real, seriously what is this? im blown away.

how does this work with breastfeeding? or does this work with bfing?

haha this is crazy. i can handle a doula to help with teaching the basics to new parents and keeping up the house and chores so parents can be with the baby... but this seems so odd to me. no thanks

laurasuzanne2006 · October 2011

magpiebride61210:

jayhawkgirl25:
Are you kidding me? I would never pay someone else to take night shifts with my newborn just so I get some sleep. They are only newborns for a short amount of time.

for real, seriously what is this? im blown away.

how does this work with breastfeeding? or does this work with bfing?

haha this is crazy. i can handle a doula to help with teaching the basics to new parents and keeping up the house and chores so parents can be with the baby... but this seems so odd to me. no thanks

agreed. When i got pregnant i thought those thing were kind of my responsibility....

mollybloom · October 2011

What a disgusting extravagance and a pretty piss poor way of shirking your responsibilities onto someone else.

mollybloom · October 2011

Oh, I lived in NYC for years and now live in Nassau County (right next to the city) and I do not know a single person that has ever hired a night nurse.

healthygalexpecting · October 2011

I hired a night nurse/nanny and also used to be one of those people who scoffed at others who did so. It was the best money my hubby and i have ever spent. She is a God-send; a baby whisperer and she has taught us more than we could have ever imagined. We are blessed to have her in our lives! I read all the books, took classes, did everything i could to prepare, but nothing can prepare you for bringing your baby home. This lady became like a mother to our family and tonight is her last night and we are all so sad. It helps beyond words to get 8 hours of straight sleep and to have her teach us how to help our baby STTN. At 10 weeks, he is STTN, goes down for naps just fine and is so content and happy. To all of you saying that is something you would never do, it's b/c u truly do not understand how the night nurse/nanny is of so much help. (FYI, i live in Dallas, TX and we pay her by the hour, $18)

healthygalexpecting · October 2011

No we are not kidding and it's WAY more than 'just paying someone to stay with your baby at night.' They teach you so, so much and the baby benefits beyond words. I am a better mother because of this lady and since I was able to finally get some sleep, i was a lot more rational as well.

jayhawkgirl25 · October 2011

Was your night nurse able to breastfeed as well?

magpiebride61210 · October 2011

i dont care how you try to justify it. its cheating.

"you have no idea how great it is to get 8 hours" oh yes i do... but i'm not supposed to get 8 hours bc i'm a mother of a newborn.

"i'm a better mother because of it" i think not. i'm just as good of a mother as you are and i'm running on 4 hours. so that excuse isn't going to fly on me.

no its not fun to be a little tired, but that baby is missing out on that special, middle of the night, everything is quiet, bonding time with his parents. how sad. don't you feel like you are missing out? or is a good night's sleep more important?

and i still want to know how breastfeedig works. do you get up to pump but let the nurse feed the baby? that seems like it defeats the point. i guess you just don't breastfeed?

(sorry i'm really being a B here, but it's driving me crazy)

alison2379 · October 2011

This thread became really rude, really fast.

I hired a night nurse that started this week. I did it alone for four weeks with no plans to hire anyone. My baby is one that happens to really only sleep in hour long intervals, and some of that sleep was having to happen in my arms, so I was getting NO sleep. There were days that I would maybe get an hour or two in, which was more collapsing than anything else. My husband travels for work, out of the country, and I was on my own all the time with no family nearby. I now have someone who is coming in 10 pm - 6 am 5x a week, and we plan to scale back to 3x a week as soon as my little girl is sleeping slightly longer stretches.

I agree that SOME people might be using this service as a luxury, and it's certainly something that not everyone can afford, but everyone is different, and I don't think it's right to judge others, especially in the tone used in this thread. I am not dealing with PPD, but some women are, and this is a wonderful solution for self-care. No one enjoys a martyr mommy.

To answer the question about breastfeeding - a night nurse will bring the baby to you at feeding intervals, or in my case, I pump and my baby gets bottles of breastmilk. I pump right before I go to bed, and I pump in the AM when I get up. That is more than enough to keep in the fridge for overnights and when my husband wants to feed the baby when he's home.

So to answer the original question, my night nurse gets $18/hour, and also will help us transition C to sleeping in her room, sleeping on flat surfaces and sleeping longer lengths with suggestions about how to handle daytimes as well. In the meantime, C and I are spending our days breastfeeding, cuddling, going for walks, meeting mom friends and learning to be in the outside world, which I was in no shape to handle before I hired this help.

vnstacie · October 2011

No way could I afford a nurse (more power to you if you can), and thinking About it, I'm glad DH and I did it alone.

Also.. At 7 weeks DD is STTN and we did that all on our own. She is also on a feeding schedule.

I just wonder what about all the firsts, I'm so excited to be a SAHM and be able to witness all the firsts, first.

brittany2960 · October 2011

laurasuzanne2006:
magpiebride61210:

jayhawkgirl25:
Are you kidding me? I would never pay someone else to take night shifts with my newborn just so I get some sleep. They are only newborns for a short amount of time.

for real, seriously what is this? im blown away.

how does this work with breastfeeding? or does this work with bfing?

haha this is crazy. i can handle a doula to help with teaching the basics to new parents and keeping up the house and chores so parents can be with the baby... but this seems so odd to me. no thanks

agreed. When i got pregnant i thought those thing were kind of my responsibility....

I'm lurking but that's exactly how I feel... I feel like you are supposed to enjoy these moments no matter how little sleep you get. FWIW, my husband deployed 20 days before my son's birth and all of our family is on the opposite side of the country. It was hard to adjust the first few nights, but you get used to doing it alone. I would be missing out on SO MUCH if I hired someone to play mommy at night...

healthygalexpecting · October 2011

alison2379:
This thread became really rude, really fast.
I hired a night nurse that started this week. I did it alone for four weeks with no plans to hire anyone. My baby is one that happens to really only sleep in hour long intervals, and some of that sleep was having to happen in my arms, so I was getting NO sleep. There were days that I would maybe get an hour or two in, which was more collapsing than anything else. My husband travels for work, out of the country, and I was on my own all the time with no family nearby. I now have someone who is coming in 10 pm - 6 am 5x a week, and we plan to scale back to 3x a week as soon as my little girl is sleeping slightly longer stretches.
I agree that SOME people might be using this service as a luxury, and it's certainly something that not everyone can afford, but everyone is different, and I don't think it's right to judge others, especially in the tone used in this thread. I am not dealing with PPD, but some women are, and this is a wonderful solution for self-care. No one enjoys a martyr mommy.
To answer the question about breastfeeding - a night nurse will bring the baby to you at feeding intervals, or in my case, I pump and my baby gets bottles of breastmilk. I pump right before I go to bed, and I pump in the AM when I get up. That is more than enough to keep in the fridge for overnights and when my husband wants to feed the baby when he's home.
So to answer the original question, my night nurse gets $18/hour, and also will help us transition C to sleeping in her room, sleeping on flat surfaces and sleeping longer lengths with suggestions about how to handle daytimes as well. In the meantime, C and I are spending our days breastfeeding, cuddling, going for walks, meeting mom friends and learning to be in the outside world, which I was in no shape to handle before I hired this help.

this is pretty much my exact same story.

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