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[quote=Anonymous]Newborn Care Specialist here.  I think it is important to know that the industry has moved away from the term "night nurse" because if you are hiring independently and they are a) not a RN or LPN and b) advertise as a "night nurse" then that tells you somethinf about how much time they have spent learning about their field.  Experience is important, but there is lots of misinformation and unsafe practices out there so you really want to be sure that they have experience caring for newborns WHILE USING BEST PRACTICES.

What I have seen is basically three tiers:

Newborn nanny: someone who has worked with newborns for a long time.  Again, i would be cautious with this group unless you are hiring someone through a reputable agency.  You want to know that they will be practicing and teaching you the safest way to care for a newborn.

Newborn Care Specialist: a true NCS should be certified (usually through NCSA) and should therefore have at least 1800 hours of newborn experience as well as classes certifying they have studied best practices.

Night Nurse: a true night nurse is an RN or LPN who also cares for newborns.  These women are extraordinary, but unless you have a medically needy baby you probably don't need a night nurse specifically.

People have hired me everywhere from 6 days per week to only one.  Reasons vary widely:
Mom struggling with PPD or PPA
Twins
Single parent
Parent returning to work early
Parents without much/any prior newborn experience
Colic 
Reflux
One parent had minimal leave and a long work day
SAHM with existing child who needs to be attent to both kids during the day
Just occasional date nights

In some cases the parents truely never get up at night with the baby/ies.  I've had several twin parents like that who handled two babies all day but said they could only manage that with at least 6 hours of sleep at night.  Many others get up at night even if I am there, in which case I might bring baby in to nurse but mom can go right back to sleep while I burp, swaddle and soothe baby back to sleep.  That can be the difference between 20 minutes awake each feed or an hour awake and can be very helpful for mom.

In addition, many new parents value having an expert there to troubleshoot and advise them.  Everything from learning how to swaddle to establishing a routine can be helpful.  Some people actually hire me only during day hours and spend a portion of the time just shadowing me and talking through how and why to do things.

A typical overnight looks like this:
I arrive and put my things away.  I speak with the parent(s) about the day/week and we discuss any concerns or questions they have and any scheduling things I need to know for the baby.
They go to bed.
I wash and prep any bottles I will need, then I compose an email addressing anything they asked about, with links to reputable sources so that they have a written, supported document they can refer back to.
I sit or lie down in baby's room and rest until baby wakes, then I either feed baby or bring baby in to nurse, then burp, change, swaddle, soothe etc. until baby is sleeping safely in his or her own bed. Repeat a few times until my shift ends.  Before the end of my shift I wash all bottles I've used and prep bottles as needed for daytime feeds.  I also send the parents a written schedule of feeds, diapers, sleep times, etc. along with the email I composed earlier.  If there is anything I need to show the parents hands-on, I might do that in the morning.[/quote]

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