While welcoming a baby into your life is amazing, it can also be exhausting! Your newborn probably won’t sleep through the night for the first few weeks or months of their life. That’s where a night nurse becomes invaluable.
Even if you know what a night nurse is, you may not be aware of all the benefits they can bring to your and your new baby’s life.
In this article, we’ll discuss those benefits and help you decide if hiring nighttime assistance is right for you and your family.
What Is A Night Nurse?
A night nurse is a professional trained to provide care for a newborn baby and aid to new parents during the first few weeks after birth.
Night nurses go by many different unofficial names — night nanny, baby nurse, postpartum doula, overnight caregiver — but their official title is Newborn Care Specialist (or NCS for short).
The reason for the official title is because only those with advanced medical training — like a licensed practical nurse (L.P.N.) or registered nurse (R.N.) — may legally use the term “nurse” in their title.
As the name suggests, a night nurse typically works from early in the evening to early in the morning so you can get the sleep you need to recover mentally and physically from the stress of labor and delivery.
The extra sleep you get also allows you to be at your best and provide the highest level of care possible for your newborn during the day!
Benefits Of Hiring A Night Nurse
1) Less Stress Getting Settled
It’s not easy — emotionally or physically — to transition from being pregnant to taking care of your newborn at home. The simple act of coming home from the hospital after giving birth is enough to make even the most experienced parent anxious and stressed.
One of the first things a night nurse can do for you and your little one is provide a stable environment to make that transition easier.
They can help you unpack. They can also help you feed, change, and care for the new addition to your family right away. Some night nurses can even provide advice and guidance on breastfeeding.
With their help, getting settled at home might not be a breeze, but it will certainly be easier!
2) A Good Routine
Finding a routine that works for you and your precious newborn takes time and practice. A night nurse can make creating that routine smoother and easier than you can on your own.
In many cases, you will be the one to determine the routine. But in other cases — midnight feedings or a dirty diaper at 3 a.m., for example — your little one has all the control.
Eventually, your newborn will sleep through the night, but until then, a night nurse can help you maintain a routine that will keep everyone in your family happy and healthy.
3) Fewer Bedtime Struggles
Depending on when they come to work, your night nurse may put your little one to sleep.
As all new parents can attest, getting a newborn to sleep — and ensuring that they stay that way after you put them down — requires time, patience, and even creativity.
Many parents choose to rock their babies to sleep on their own, but having the night nurse do it creates a consistent pattern that will help your newborn be more comfortable should they wake up in the middle of the night.
4) More Uninterrupted Sleep
For the first few weeks of your baby’s life, they will wake up in the middle of the night.
Even if your two-month-old is sleeping through the night right now, that doesn’t mean they will be next month!
Your little one’s sleep habits may go from eight full hours down to only two or three hours at any time. This change in behavior is called sleep regression, and it can seriously disrupt the good routine you’ve established.
A night nurse will be there to soothe your little one back to sleep no matter how many times they wake up during the night.
With the help of a night nurse, you can survive those sleep regressions without sacrificing the sleep you need to get through the next day.
5) A Well-Fed Baby
One of the main reasons your baby wakes up in the middle of the night is because they’re hungry and need to be fed.
If you decide to bottle-feed, it’s the night nurse’s responsibility to feed your newborn so you can sleep and recover. If you decide to breastfeed your baby, the night nurse can help with that, too.
They won’t act as a wet nurse, but they will bring your newborn to you when it’s feeding time and put them down in their crib again when they’re finished.
With the night nurse keeping track of your baby’s sleeping and waking, you don’t have to be as alert to your newborn’s cries and can fall into a deeper sleep between feedings.
6) A Comfortable Baby
The other main reason your baby wakes up in the middle of the night is because they have a dirty diaper.
As with the early-morning and late-night feedings, the night nurse will clean and diaper your baby and rock them back to sleep so you can stay in bed.
7) Bottles Washed And Ready
While your baby sleeps, there’s time to get things done around the house. You can have your night nurse clean and sterilize the used bottles so they’re ready to go the next day.
That takes a huge weight off your shoulders and allows you to give 100% of your attention to caring for your precious newborn when the sun is up!
8) Clean Baby Clothes
Baby’s make a lot of laundry! Whether it’s dirty onesies, dirty blankets, or dirty sheets, it seems like there’s always a load of laundry waiting to go into the machine.
What better time to get the laundry done than while you sleep?
Most newborns will sleep for a few hours before they wake up to be changed or fed. This is prime time for your night nurse to get a load of laundry washed, dried, folded, and ready to go.
9) No More Running Out Of Supplies
There’s nothing like the panic of running out of wipes in the middle of changing your baby’s diaper!
During the nighttime hours while your little one sleeps, your night nurse can make sure all the essential supplies — wipes, diapers, clean onesies, blankets, swaddles, binkies, formula — are right where they should be for the next day’s activities.
The night nurse can even start a shopping list if you’re close to running out of necessities so you don’t have to worry about forgetting to pick something up while you’re at the store.
10) More Time For You To Focus On Your Baby
Cleaning your baby’s dirty clothes, blankets, sheets, and other essentials will usually only take one trip through the washing machine.
That leaves plenty of time for your night nurse to start a load of your family’s laundry so you don’t have to worry about it in the morning.
Not all night nurses will take on extra work like this, so be sure to talk to the person you intend to hire to find out if they’re willing to add to their responsibilities.
Similar to washing family laundry, some night nurses will complete light housework, such as:
- Washing dishes
- Cleaning the kitchen
- Tidying up the house
- Sweeping and vacuuming floors
- Dusting
- Organizing
Some night nurses are also happy to provide pet care while you sleep. Ask what extras they will and will not do to find the right balance for everyone involved.
A Good Night’s Sleep For You And Your Baby
There’s no questioning the value of a good night’s sleep — for you and your baby!
A night nurse can certainly make both possible. But the quality and duration of your newborn’s sleep actually start with the mattress in their crib.
That’s why Newton Baby created a 100% breathable, 100% washable, 100% comfortable crib mattress that is just right for babies of all ages.
And with Newton Baby’s Wovenaire® and Breathe-Thru technologies, you can sleep soundly knowing that should your precious little one accidentally roll onto their stomach at night, they’ll still be able to breathe.
That’s peace of mind — and a deep, restful sleep for your newborn — you can’t get anywhere else. It all starts with a Newton Baby breathable mattress!
Whether you hire a night nurse or not, give your little one the gift of a safe and comfortable sleeping environment. Because when your baby is well-rested and happy, you will be too.
For more information on helping your baby sleep through the night and to check out our crib mattresses, sheets, pads, and swaddles, visit NewtonBaby.com today.
