Maternity Nurses NW3 Recommendations

[TLAF]

I am expecting my first born in June and as my family lives abroad I am looking for a maternity nurse for the first 4 weeks. Does anyone have good recommendations for a maternity nurse in London?

I'm a maternity nurse based in London, but aren't available until the end of June.

Have you tried putting an ad on gumtree? and nannyjob for a maternity nurse?

Have any of your friends had MNs because personal recomendations are good.

All the ones recommended by my friends are already booked for June.

I was not sure gumtree is a reliable source - no screening etc.... Would you recommend?

Gumtree is as good as any online site.

If you did decide to look for someone on gumtree you can check:
-when last CRB was carried out?
-check their references at least two of the recent ones should be verbal checking
-check qualifications and past work.

Its basically all the agencies do!

Also good idea to have what your ideal MN would be? eg If you decide to BF does the MN support this, has she extra training in BF, how has she helped her past clients BF?

Does she do extra help within the household? eg cooking, small errands etc

Does follow a particular philosophy of baby care eg Gina Ford, Baby Whisperer? Will she expect you to "do" everything as she says or will she be flexible?

Most of all go with your gut instinct. It doesn't matter what experience/quals they have it matters most about the personal "click".

Hope that helps. What date are you due?

Thanks so much. This is really helpful.
13th of June is the due date and as June will be a crazy month for my hubby at work really need the help from day 1....

Hiya - just a suggestion but rather than a maternity nurse, have you considered a postnatal Doula rather than a mat nurse (I may be a bit biased but my experiences with mat nurses is that they are quite routine focussed etc and some of my pals that have used them have been a bit lost when they left and have felt a bit disenfranchised) where as a Doula is meant to mother you both IYSWIM, ie help with household stuff, light meals so you can gain confidence with your baby (PS - Im not a Doula, but after hearing the pos reviews from some friends who have had them, I am hiring one when DC2 arrives!!)