Would you get a night / baby nurse?

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If you could afford it / it was free.

I think in theory I’d love it but in reality I’d feel guilty. Contemplating this as I head into another long newborn night!

YABU - no
YANBU - I would

A housekeeper forever please!

How does it work if you BF? They bring them to you and you still don’t sleep? Was contemplating one anyway for no2 due in a few weeks but would need to plan to bottle feed I suppose

I imagined with breastfeeding they'd sleep with the baby in a different room, then bring them to you and take them back once they were fed. So you wouldn't get the uninterrupted sleep but you wouldn't need to try and settle them in the cot, or hold them upright after the feed if they had reflux, change nappies or anything.

I breastfed 99% of the time but there was one or two nights where I took a complete break and my husband formula fed on those night. Didn't affect my supply at all as it was just a couple isolated nights weeks apart. I would have done the same if I'd been able to get a night nurse for a couple nights. I wouldn't bother if I still had to wake up and feed, I know it's still a help but it wouldn't have been worth the money to me.

I used to charge £120 per night IN London.

Outside would be £120 per night plus petrol, depending on where it was. That was 15 years ago.

I suspect that I would be charging about £180 per night now but I don't think I have the energy to night nanny anymore!

Exactly that. If Mummy was BF, I simply bring baby in to her, and she would let me know when she was done so I could take the baby back.

Yes! This

Yes if bottle feeding, no if breastfeeding.

My mum always says she tried to BF me but couldn't make enough milk. My theory is that her supply never got a chance because a third person was deciding when to bring me in rather than having that close back and forth between mother and baby. How is a night nanny meant to handle cluster feeding?

Id much rather a housekeeper!

Yes I definitely would, there's no shame in wanting a full night's sleep, sleep deprivation has terrible effects on a person.

No. Me and my husband work together. We don't have grandparents nearby either but 2 adults can manage.

I can see you if you have multiples or are a single parent you'd struggle though

I’ve been a nanny who worked 24 hrs 6 days per week. It made me sad that the parents weren’t around and I was essentially being the parent whilst mum and dad would come play/cuddle for 10 minutes here and there throughout the day. (Probable made it worse that they’d complain how exhausting parenting was when I was the one up all night and with the kids all day!)

Thats an extreme example though.

I wouldn’t personally have one now with my own child (unless perhaps I had a multiple birth).

Personally I’d have preferred someone to do the cleaning/cooking etc during the day so I could nap guilt free during the day without the mess piling up during that newborn stage.

Yes, I would, I had two under two, but very much depends on the baby, DS1 was very happy, contented, easy baby. DS2 was the total opposite, and came as a complete shock. My MIL had a lot of experience of babies and said she had never known one like him!

My late MIL stayed one night a week in a regular basis and looked after him all night, I did breastfeed him, but he had bottles those nights. I honestly don’t know how we would have survived without her support, she was absolutely amazing.

If we didn’t have her help then I think we would have had to have paid someone to help us. Needless to say baby no.3 was totally out of the question.

I absolutely would have done, i was so miserable when my DC were born

God yes if I had the money. DS was a terrible sleeper and it really took its toll

No but only because my children have been good sleepers as newborns relatively speaking. So I would get nice chunks of 3/4/5 hours and co-slept so even then waking didn't bother me, as I would just latch them on laying down and fall back asleep in a cuddle curl. So I don't really see the need for a night nurse with my own family. But a nanny when it comes to toddler ages... yes please

Definately not, cosleeping and nursing,no need for anyone else,not even my husband.

No I don't see the point of the having children if you are going to outsource everything

I'd wait till baby was a couple of months old and bf was established, then yes, absolutely! You can either wake up to express milk or the night nurse brings the baby to you to feed, then does all the winding/settling afterwards. A total win!

I did for my first. For all the judgers we bonded just fine btw 🙄. The unbroken sleep was invaluable! You just express at 10pm (if you're breastfeeding) and the night nanny does the night feed. Or she brings baby to you for a feed but you don't have to faff around changing, winding, settling etc afterward. I had a night nanny for 10 days but if I could have afforded it I'd have had her for 3 months 😁

I had to Google night nanny as I’d never heard of it. I assumed you meant maternity nurse which I looked into briefly. Lots of people mentioned post natal doulas on this thread. I breastfed and hope to do so again and because the hormones in night feeds are important in helping baby adjust to day and night I agree I’d rather have day time help.

Definitely! I had 2u2 and they have been the most awful sleepers, 45 min max was all I'd get from both until they are l were 2 and 18mo. After that, once they were doing 3 hour stints it was more manageable. If I had a baby who only woke 3 times a night I wouldn't bother - though if I had the money I'd get someone to do the cleaning and tidying in the day instead in that case.

I've got a family member who does this for celebrities. She goes to live with them for a few months after the baby is born, looks after it all night and gets it into a good routine for them.

I wouldn't have wanted this myself. Half the point of maternity leave for me was so that I could be exhausted but it didn't matter that much because I could chill at home all day.

No. Breastfeeding was important to me, no-one else fed my baby so as a result there were some long nights. But it’s such a tiny amount of time in a lifetime, although in the thick of it, it feels like forever.

Totally agree