We hired a postpartum doula from Doula Care of Maryland. I think it was $29-$30/hr overnight. It was wonderful to sleep an entire night while she cared for our newborn. Only 1-2 nights but I NEEDED those nights!

$30/hr is average

Can't remember the rates, but it was expensive. For our first, we had a night nurse every night for about 2 weeks. For our second, we had her come three nights a week for about 3 months. The second approach was much better. Knowing I could count on at least three good nights of sleep was great. I was breastfeeding so still had to get up once a night to pump though. Definitely worth it to me.

Rates are going to depend on where you live and what you are looking for. Do you want a very experienced Newborn Care Specialist, an experienced Night Nanny, or a person who calls themselves a “Baby Nurse” despite her lack of a nursing degree? (I’m guessing the horror story above involved a “Baby Nurse”, since that fake term is still widely used in NYC. These caregivers are the cheapest alternative.)

If you want someone who can come in, ask you how you prefer she handle night feeds, ask you if you want help with sleep conditioning, and then get to work without needing to be watched with cameras while you don’t sleep, you will pay a premium because those candidates know what they are doing, are able to accommodate your wishes easily, and have training and references you can check.

Someone with less experience will cost a bit less, but you may have to manage them a bit. That’s fine, especially if you prefer to be more hands-on.

One current trend in the NCS and Night Nanny industry is only providing awake care (person stays awake all night long, even when your baby is asleep) for double their typical rate. If you are comfortable with the person you hire sleeping or resting when your baby sleeps, your costs will be lower.

Very helpful. Found through Care.com site.

Camera in baby's room so easy to check here and there when nanny came in to feed/change diaper/hold. There was a guest bed in baby's room but nanny was in living room when baby was sleeping, where she had the baby monitor. Camera in living room too. We obviously got a background check, references, checked for CPR certification, other info. Paid $22/hour for 10 hours, 3x a week for about 7 weeks, from the time dd was 3 weeks (after my mom went back home from staying with us to help) to 10 weeks. She also sat for dd one day a week for 6 hours so I could get stuff done/run errands the first year plus, plus on an occasional evening basis for date nights and such until she moved. No regrets. This was 3 years ago and a huge help while on maternity leave, dh back to work 2 weeks after birth, plus another dd in school. Absolutely needed the sleep.

I wouldn't do it again....

We hired a private night nurse...apparently she was very popular with the NYC crowd. She took the train down to stay with us.

With our DD, I guess she was OK. Our DD has a name that isn't super common but most people pick it up quickly...although this nurse never got it right. And we had some struggles around our instructions for overnight (I was breastfeeding with supplements but wanted to be woken up at night. The nurse kept letting me sleep and feeding with the bottle).

Living with her for a week was a nightmare though! She took a humidifier and put it on the floor of the nursery, warping our wood floor in that room. She also gave us a list of groceries she required while staying with us- my husband and I spent hours looking for non-dairy milk with less than 4g of sugar per serving (most have 6g so this was hard to find), only to watch her eat an entire cake that was left over in the fridge (I'm all about being accommodating, but don't sent me on an impossible search for low-sugar milk substitute and then proceed to eat all the sugar in my home). She was sneaking food into her room to eat and throwing out the evidence into the diaper pail the whole time.

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/536769.page

Anonymous wrote:The best money we ever spent. We have twins.

This was 7 years ago, but we did it once a week for a few months. It was like $25-30 an hour then, but I lived for those nights that I could get one full night of sleep. We both needed sleep so badly.

The night nanny also helped us sleep train, which was also a god send. Ask about that if you decide to hire one.

We used this company and were very happy with the service: https://letmommysleep.com/

The best money we ever spent. We have twins.

This was 7 years ago, but we did it once a week for a few months. It was like $25-30 an hour then, but I lived for those nights that I could get one full night of sleep. We both needed sleep so badly.

The night nanny also helped us sleep train, which was also a god send. Ask about that if you decide to hire one.

We are considering hiring a night nanny for just one night a week to allow us to get ANY sleep. Has anyone here done that? How did it work for you, compared to your expectations? How much did you pay?