Please recommend a "maternity nanny" agency in London to me

[peepos]

Hi,

DC2 will be arriving on 1 March by CS. DC1 will be just 2 years old.

We did not have any help with DC1 but feel that with having a CS this time and having a toddler to deal with, help will be vital this time.

I intend to BF, have baby in same room and don't really want to just feed baby and hand him/her over constantly. I also don't want someone who will be imposing her own routine/way of doing things on us.

Can anyone recommend an agency who could supply someone who can help with the baby but also with my toddler for approximately 6 weeks? They would also have to be on hand at night time if the baby was not settling.

From what I have read on websites etc, a maternity nurse may not be what we are looking for - am I right about this?

TIA

maternity nurses and nannies are really the same thing. They just call themselves differently. 'nurses' might be older or have more experience so might be more inclined to have formed stronger opinions about things but also would hopefully know not to take a job if they weren't happy to work with what you wanted.
6 weeks 24 hours with day or two off is common. They wouldn't normally be involved with the 2 year old though so you would have to make that want very clear in job description. Can't recommend any agencies though.

What you need is a doula!

Their role is to 'mother the mother' by caring for the family as a whole, including older siblings.

Look at the Doula UK website.

An inexperienced/trainee MN might do this. It would be unusual for an experienced MN to deal with a toddler/anything other than the baby and routine etc.

Thanks - that's helpful. I might have a look at the doula website then because I don't think I want to pay ££££ for a MN and then find that I still can't get my toddler bathed or to bed because I can't lift him!

could you combine perhaps a doula or even a mothers help during the day with a night nanny for a few nights so you get some rest a few nights a week by night nanny settling baby after feeds for a few nights and perhaps over time give bottle of expressed milk in night - you may find your money stretches a little further and allows help for a bit longer by doing this.

A mothers help could then help with househould chores, play with toddler, watch/settle baby whilst you rest or play with toddler, bath toddler or help you do it etc.

A mothers help would cost about £7 gross an hr and a night nanny £10-£15 gross an hr depending on quals, exp and area.

I had a doula - I used this agency.

I wanted to bf and not put DS straight into a strict routine, but couldn't cope on my own, was struggling with anxiety issues and DH suggested getting someone to help me out - thank god he did! I wasn't feeling assertive enough to deal with a maternity nurse who might have a 'system' and tell me how to do it. My doula was great as she helped with DS but also helped around the house. She was very kind and knowledgeable about babies but deferred to me completely. She was willing to support me in whatever way I found most useful - whether that was bringing me a drink and a sandwich when I'd been trying to feed DS for over an hour (bf did not come easily...), doing the washing up, helping with DS. She gave me confidence in myself and always followed my lead which was great as I was very vulnerable at the time. PM me with your e-mail address if you want the name of the doula I had - don't know if she's still with the agency, but you could ask.

I used a maternity nurse and she rocked. The agency was Maternally Yours. Could not have done it without her :)

thanks all

I'd recommend that you look for a flexible child carer (nanny, mothers help) who has experience of both newborns and toddlers. Someone who can be flexible to suit your changing needs over the next few weeks in terms of duties, hours etc. If you have time you can advertise on netmums, childcare, etc. If not, a good agency will be able to help!

I used a postpartum doula, and she was incredible. We're in NYC, so I'm not sure if there's regional variation, but on the three overnight shifts she soothed and put baby back to sleep, while during breastfeeding she checked my latch, showed me all the different positions etc.

For the dayshifts, she essentially taught me all there was to know about looking after baby, how to do the Moby wrap, how to give a bath etc., none of which you'll obviously need to know, but my feeling is that doulas are very flexible in their roles. In addition, she cooked amazing food for us, gave me foot massages, let me take naps, did the laundry, and ran a couple of errands. Again, things might be different in the UK, but the maternity nurses in NYC have the babies on a strict schedule, formula feed at night, and generally do everything. Doulas are also much more expensive over this way.

Hijacking this thread! Would any of the advice above change with twins? I am being strongly urged (including by DP) to get a fullblown maternity nurse given the upheaval, need for routine, fact I'm going to be a cow, basically, spending my whole time feeding...but a) have always felt weird having people in the house and this would be 24/7 and b) think the main things I'll need help with are DS1 who is doing A levels and getting him fed, laundry, me fed, house in a passable state etc.

Thoughts?