everything you need to know about having a maternity night nurse for your new baby

With a toddler that was still fairly rubbish at sleeping through the night and our second baby due in the middle of Covid restrictions, we decided to try out the life changing magic that is a night nurse in the first few weeks after we brought home our second baby.

We had a bit of a tricky run with our first baby and learned that we just do not cope well with sleep deprivation. I really really need sleep. Sleep deprivation makes me really anxious (it also makes my husband really whiny).

What is a maternity night nurse?

I am sure that different night nurses do different things, but we had a lady that works as a nurse on a neonatal ward come to our house once or twice a week for the first few weeks to mind our baby overnight.

Why do I need one?

It all boils down to one thing; sleep.

I found that knowing that we had a night of good sleep to look forward to/survive until really changed our perspective on the first few weeks with a new baby.

The other huge benefit was the peace of mind it offered. Having a qualified neonatal nurse who is used to seeing lots of babies meant that we could ask all those little questions that we probably would have angsted over otherwise.

How does it work?

The nurse would arrive just before 10pm; we would do a quick handover about how the day had been (feeds, sleeps, nappies etc.) and then head to bed upstairs. She would stay downstairs with the baby overnight, doing night feeds, changing nappies, settling her etc. She also did bonus tasks like washing and sterilising bottles.

We would get a full night of sleep (toddler dependent) and come downstairs the next morning at 6.45am for a handover. In addition to a general chat about how the night had gone, we always got a written record of all the feeds, nappies and sleep timings. She then packed up her stuff and left around 7am.

What set up do I need?

We have an open plan kitchen/dining/living space with a TV and sofa so she was able to stay with the baby in one room for the night. Different people may have different requirements, but I would say as a minimum you need a comfortable place to stretch out, access to a bathroom, a kettle and a fridge. Also a safe place for the baby to sleep and a changing station.

Does it work if I am breast feeding?

We exclusively formula fed our second baby, so it was relatively straightforward to hand her over for the whole night and know that she was well taken care of. It is still totally possible to have a night nurse if you are breastfeeding though, with lots of different options for feeding (e.g. expressed milk, formula, or have baby brought to you for night feeds) so it’s definitely worth looking into. Also, as an added bonus, our nurse was a certified lactation consultant!

What qualifications do they have?

This will depend on the person. We had two different (but equally lovely) ladies who were both neonatal nurses in Dublin hospitals. As we found them through recommendations, we asked to see ID and their qualifications and were able to cross reference these qualifications on the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland website. We also asked for references and made sure we were comfortable with these.

Who gets a night nurse?

I always thought that night nurses were just for celebrities and the mega rich, but ours cost roughly the same as we would have paid for a babysitter and dinner in a restaurant pre-covid. Having spent a year not needing babysitters or paying for restaurants, I definitely think that an uninterrupted night’s sleep is better value.

Also, the more I chat to people about it, the more I realise that it is becoming more mainstream. Most of the mums I have spoken to with twins and multiples had night time help in the first few weeks and I’m seeing more and more people posting on social media about it.

How can I schedule a nurse if I don’t know when the baby will come?

As babies tend to be a bit unpredictable in their arrival dates, we just let her know our due date and she kept a few spots for us in her calendar for the first few weeks. After that, we were able to schedule in our nights a few weeks in advance. They are in high demand though, so get your name down early!

Is it not weird to have someone in your house when you’re asleep?

Yep. It is.

We were totally weirded out by this the first night but we were confident in the references we had spoken to, her qualifications and how comfortable she made us feel when we met.

How does it work with covid?

This may vary depending on the individual, but the nurses we worked with were both fully vaccinated and wore masks in the house. We socially distanced from them in so far as possible too. We also had a few cancelled nights due to covid testing and close contacts etc.

all good things come to an end…

We thought we had had our last night when our baby was about 8 weeks old as she was sleeping through most nights, so we felt like we didn’t really need the support anymore. However after a week of crappy nights (teething or sleep regression or growth spurt), we called for emergency back up and had a blissful 8hrs sleep last night. I feel like I have been reset today, so we’ll definitely be keeping her on speed dial for when we need her again!!

These FAQs represent our experiences and different nurses will have different requirements and qualifications. YOU are the best judge of any caregiver for your baby.