Baby Night Nurse Info

How old is your baby? My son was born colicky- he had "extreme colic" which Im told occurs in 1% of 1% of the population which I guess is 1 in 1000 so I sympathize with you if you are having sleepless nights. His colic lasted until 13 months of age where he did not sleep for more than 45 minutes at a time and then was up screaming for an hour. It was brutal. Anyway, I got used to it when he was 3 months but in the beginning I was so tired I couldn't even see straight. Plus I had no help from my husband who needs 8-10 hours sleep to function at work.

So, enter night nurse. I got her at 7 weeks when I was hitting my breaking point.I googled and found all these agencies but felt apprehensive about a total stranger coming to the house. I called the nurses station at the hospital where I delivered and asked for help in finding one. They had the head nurse call me and it turns out that on the side she has a business where she contracts the other nurses from the maternity ward to do night nursing. I felt better that they were from my hospital and all background checked etc.

The nurse would come at 8pm in her scrubs and stay until 6am. First she and I would give the baby a bath. Then I would nurse him and talk to her for a little bit. Then I would go and take a shower and go to bed. Since I didn't want my milk supply to be diminished I asked that she wake me via text at the feeding that landed between 12am-2am but before and after that to use a bottle of my milk pumped earlier that day. Throughout the night she would hold him and try to get him to take a paci for comfort (which he never did). She also worked on getting him to sleep in the crib.

I had her come on Monday, Wednesday and Friday due to the price but it was such a nice respite for me and I looked forward to those days when she would come. We would talk and I could ask baby questions or nursing questions. For my own comfort and peace of mind I would turn on the alarm when I went upstairs so that I would know if the door was opened, just in case (you never know right?).

We only did it for 3 months but it was worth every penny. I know I would have suffered from depression if we had not gotten a nurse. It really helped me to adjust to motherhood and the demands of sleepless nights. Don't be a hero, you're only hurting yourself and then you won't be 100% for your sweet baby all day. You don't want to get depressed or resentful or make a mistake because you're so tired. There is plenty of time to bond, believe me.

We paid $25 per hour in Chicago. There was nothing I didn't love about it, wish I could have afforded every night in those first weeks. I mentioned her to my high profile OBGYNE and it turned out that the head nurse was actually her night nurse when her kids were babies. Give your maternity ward a call and ask your OGYNE.

If your child is older, like over 6 months it might be harder to get them to accept someone else but its worth a try.

Good luck!

I have friends that used one routinely for the first 3mos of their baby's life.
The care takers were nurses and doctors that wanted to earn extra income.
For a full night (considered 11pm-7am), they were paying $100/hr.
Yes, you read that right.

I'm in the wrong line of work.

If you are extremely well off and can afford to pay an nurse, right? A licensed nurse? then I'd say you're going to be paying thousands per month.

A licensed nurse, in Oklahoma, gets well over $20 per hour for a day time job. Working nights without the opportunity to leave at all during the night time hours would be at least a 40 hour per week job. That's at least $1000 per week. I would imagine an agency would pay them the $20+ per hour but the actual fee would be higher because after all, they are in business to make money right?

One thing some parents do is take care of their own kiddo during the night then during the day they sleep while kiddo goes to child care. Not a bad thing. Dad takes kiddo to child care when he goes to work then when mom gets up and gets around, takes a shower, does a few things either she goes and gets kiddo or dad goes to get kiddo when he gets off work.

You need to rest, I get that. People who don't get their rest can have hallucinations, can do things they normally wouldn't do, and go a little crazy until they start getting their sleep again.

Not one of my grand kids slept all night until they were over 2 years old. I was sleep deprived and would sit in the hallway and cry. My hubby started getting up with the kiddos and let me sleep. I was a much happier person during the day and was functioning again.

My suggestions are this.

If you hire a stranger to come into your home and stay awake during the night time hours then you are going to have risks. A stranger can hurt your child then hurt you. A stranger can steal from you. They can also move in and not leave if that story about the nanny that won't leave has any truth to it.

If you use a daytime child care so you can sleep you will save a ton of money plus a licensed child care in a facility, not a home, has multiple staff going in and out of a classroom all day. People watch each other and safety matters because they want to keep their license.

If you already work days and can't sleep during the day then I do see how important having someone come in to help is.

Why not have yours or hubby's mom, sister, aunt, cousin, or other relative come in and stay for a week or two then trade off with another relative. You could pay for their trip and give them some pocket money too. Pay a family member instead of a stranger.

But all in all if you want a nurse I imagine you'll have to pay a high price for it.

I needed my sleep and even after sleeping 3-4 nights in a row I was a much happier person and able to cope with everything again. And enjoy raising my grand kids.

I have not. We have friends though who brought in a baby sleep whisperer to do the sleep training. I think they were charged $5000 as a flat rate for 15 hour nights for at least 3 and as many as 7 nights. I think the fee also included two "follow up" sessions should they be required.

Best,
F. B.

Ok. Not all baby nurses are so much. I had one. In the NYC area it is very common. I think it was $220 for 24 hour care. We provided food. And of course it wasn't really 24 hours but she was on duty technically. Many friends have done the same thing. If you are in CA and have friends at all in NYC you can ask for recommendations and fly one out. I know people who did it bc it's still cheaper if you keep one a while. I bet they are about $300 a day now. Ours was a bit annoying. She had an attitude and could be condescending but totally knew what she was doing. Her giving the baby a bath was so expertly done I laughed vs how I was with my first. They live on their reputations and recommendations so I felt she was safe. She had been a nurse for a friend.

Like someone that gets up with your baby at night so you can sleep? Nah, my kid, my sleepless nights. Wouldn't trade it for anything (and fortunately it didn't last for long).

i'm clutching my chest!
$800 a night!
(not that it wouldn't have seemed worth it during the throes of sleepless new motherhood.)
:O
khairete
S.