Baby Nurse - 24 hrs. vs. Nighttime Only

[Anonymous]

We're considering a baby nurse for the first 1 to 2 (or 3) weeks after delivery and I'm interested to know of other people's experiences of hiring a nurse for 24 hours/day help versus just nighttime assistance. Did you find 24 hours/ day was too much, nighttime not enough? Did you do a combination of the two? We will have family around for some of this time, but also feel like with our family dynamics, it may be best to have a designated person (the nurse) to assist my husband and me with feeding, bathing and sleep schedules. At the same time, though, I don't want to feel like I have a nurse hanging around all day doing nothing when the real help I'll need is at night. This will be my first child - obviously - and it is hard for me to know what to expect.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

we did nighttime only and it worked well (think it would have been too much to have her around full time). She arrived at 7pm and left at 9am.

To be honest, the baby sleeps a lot (or feeds) so during the day it was relatively easy for me to manage. But what the nurse was great for was getting a full night's rest and peace of mind that the baby was actually breathing while I caught some shut eye.

We had initially booked her for two weeks of nights, but I found 1 week was enough so I canceled the second week--she allowed us to get some rest, and taught us all the things we didn't know (i.e. how to cut the baby's nails, how to swaddle etc etc). However, the second week felt unnecessary given the extraordinary cost (roughly $24 an hour).

p.s. If you have a c-section you may feel differently as its harder to get around. I did not have a c-section, so after a few days I was pretty much mobile again. But friends who have had c-section have been immobilized for 2 weeks...

[Anonymous]

Not to hijack this post, but does the PP (or anyone else) mind sharing the name of her night only nurse? I am having zero luck finding a nurse that will just come for nights, but financially this would allow us to keep the nurse longer. thanks

[Anonymous]

I would also appreciate any baby nurse suggestions.
Thank you

[Anonymous]

24 hours is definitely a waste if your husband or someone else will be home with you during the day. It would be much better to use the money you would have spent on the daytime hours keeping your night nurse for longer. Plus, you'll want some alone time with your baby to bond, etc. I had a C-section and found that I didn't have that much trouble getting around -- by the time I got home from the hospital I was relatively mobile - and I had my husband to handle frequent trips up and down stairs, etc. for the first few days. We had a baby nurse for about 2 1/2 weeks - and this time I think I'm going to have her come even longer - maybe for the first 4-5 weeks.

FWIW, DH and I knew absolutely nothing about babies but you really adjust fast and it's not that hard if you both will be home so you have help. You get used to the routine of feed, burp, change, sleep, etc. pretty quickly. The hard part is the sleep deprivation -- which is what the nurse is great for.

You also mention you'll have family around -- definitley enlist them to help with all the non-baby stuff that needs to get done that you won't have a lot of time for -- cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, etc.

[Anonymous]

I LOVE my baby nurse. Her name is Lyn Prince-Coles and you can reach her at [e-mail].

[Anonymous]

Not to hijack (sorry OP), but do you need an extra bedroom for a night nurse? Our nursery is small and the little one will have 2 older siblings, so not much bedroom space for a night nurse to hangout (there is a rocking chair, but that is about it). Would the night nurse just chill downstairs, watching TV or what does she do when (hopefully) baby is sleeping?

[Anonymous]

No - we set up a pack n' play (the kind with a bassinet insert) in our family room. The night nurse could read or watch TV while the baby was right next to her.

[Anonymous]

We only had a night nurse and in retrospect we should have done 24 hours. But I had a c-section, my husband was only home for the first week, family visits were very short, and our baby had awful reflux which made nursing very difficult. So the first month or so was a real struggle for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We only had a night nurse and in retrospect we should have done 24 hours. But I had a c-section, my husband was only home for the first week, family visits were very short, and our baby had awful reflux which made nursing very difficult. So the first month or so was a real struggle for me.

I just wanted to piggy back on this. I too have a reflux baby and would have died and gone to heaven if I had a 24hr nurse. Refulx can drive parents completely crazy and unless you've lived it you have no idea how horrible it is.

Personally, I had a super easy baby for #1 and would not have needed the nurse, but baby #2 was incredibly hard and after the first week home of screaming, I would have hired a baby nurse in a heartbeat if I had known what was going on.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks so much for the thoughts on this subject, and no worries about hijacking. You all brought up some additional points that we are considering too, like, where the night nurse will sleep. We, too, will have a small nursery, but if we use the pack and play and order the crib for delivery later, we should have room for both baby and nurse in the same room.

If there is anyone out there that had a 24 hour nurse - my question is, what did the nurse do all day? This may be silly, but did you feel like you needed to "entertain" or make sure she was comfortable/ occupied like you would with other house guests?

[Anonymous]

Another question - do the night nurses actually sleep at night? And just wake up when the baby needs to wake up? Having a night nurse sounds nice, especially since I have two older kids that limit my ability to sleep during the day when baby is napping. My first kid was very difficult - acid reflux, wouldn't sleep in crib, etc. But the second was very easy - he would sleep, wake up when hungry and then go right back to sleep.

Seems to me that you need to commit to a night nurse before baby comes, so I just wonder about whether it is worth it to get one...

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Hey - I was on bedrest, weak, worried and exhausted before my first baby. I did have an emergency c-section and a preemie. We hired a 24 hour nurse for the first week and it was great. She slept in the guest room, took a nap every afternoon, and only slept at night when the baby slept (which was about 90 minutes at a time, 30 to feed, 90 to sleep, repeat). It made the first week enjoyable for me and DH (plus LO) and was worth every penny. She taught us stuff during the day, helped out with chores, kept family and friends at bay (seriously, you need this, no one cares if you're exhausted or need to eat). I used Debbie Donohue, [e-mail]. During the day she helped out with whatever we wanted, took a nap if we didn't need her, even ran errands for us. I could not lift my preemie in his car seat or climb stairs, and was so physically limited that I needed serious help. The problem with family helping - and I did have family come to help - is that they don't understand how physically and emotionally spent you are how. Our family, which I think is typical, either tells us how we're doing something wrong, which is not what we needed that first week, or expects us to tell them how to do everything. For example, my MIL wanted to give the 7 day old preemie water to cure his hiccups; water is dangerous at that age as they need every calorie and lose weight so quickly. Having Debbie say no, and then explain why not, was a huge burden off of us.

[Anonymous]

i've had two csections and had a night nurse only after each (12hrs 7pm to 7am) -- i found it to be the perfect amount of help. it depends if you have anyone else helping you during the day (husband home, family, etc). our night nurse read/slept on a glider in baby's nursery. call sandra murray of sandra's elite nursing care -- ask for eunice as the baby nurse....240.893.4078

[Anonymous]

I will say that the one thing that REALLY bothered me about the night nurse we hired was that she did sleep when the baby slept.

One time, I woke in the middle of the night as i was 'full' and needed to feed. I came downstairs and found the night nurse snoring/asleep (granted her head was right by the basinette so she could hear if the baby stirred). BUT, my whole reason for the night nurse was peace of mind with sids and other. If she is sleeping how is it any better than if i am sleeping.

So, if I were to do it again, i would ask as part of my interview/screen of night nurses whether the night nurse sleeps or not. Or, said otherwise, what does she do when the baby is asleep.

I'd only hire one who does not sleep and who is monitoring the baby for the time she is on the job (since why am I paying her $24 hours for her to sleep in my guestroom bed). I want to make sure my baby is breathing ok, and if you are sleeping how do you know that!

Just my two cents from prior experience.