Maternity nurse for new mum of twins?

[fruji]

This is sort of on behalf of a friend who is due to have twins by c/s in a couple of weeks. They won't be coming home for a little while (coming out at 32wks) but a group of us are hoping to club together to contribute to a maternity nurse for her when they do come home - to help with night feeds etc.

I'd love some advice on what she should be looking for - I have 2 d/s's myself (and didn't have a maternity nurse for either) but not twins so this is new territory for me. Any thoughts on what to look for / questions to ask when hiring would be appreciated.

Thanks.

what an amazing friend you are. Perfect present which will set her up so well.
Definitely try and get one who has had experience with twins would be my advice. Then she'll have an idea of how it is going to work.

Apparently they're expecting the twins to be kept in special care for about 4 weeks. Even so they'll still be really little when they come out so good point lottie - she is hoping to breastfeed.

Maybe a day or two early on and then a good chunk of support a bit later when they're a bit more awake?

Hi maternity nurses do cost a lot lot lot so check the prices before you commit!

I had six weeks of twins maternity nurse...thanks to family paying and she was 200 quid a day......my sis and her single baby had a maternity nurse twice a week and it worked for her.... I actually felt like I was looking after the nurse sometimes but thats just me and servants...she had the lie in most days and I was up with the lark......odd situation having someone in your house all the time - not that I want to sound ungrateful - also I am now addicted to Emmerdale thanks to her ....and instant coffee which I had nt drunk for years!

So do twins mat nurses cost more then? My (limited) research came up with around £15 an hour - optimistic? I was assuming a 10 hour shift - ideally overnight as I'm thinking that's when it's hardest.

Maternity nurses tend to do 24/5 or 24/6. If it's just overnight that she needs help a night nanny might be a better bet - you could have someone just a few nights a week for a longer period, or every night for a shorter period.

If you're in London there's an agency called Night Nannies - I think they charge around £100 a night.

Just checked and they cover a lot of the south outside London too.

Another option might be a postnatal doula, though not if it is specifically the nights your friend thinks she wants help with. I had one booked for 6 weeks after my twins came home from hospital but ended up keeping her for 12. She was fantastic with the babies, doing stuff with Dd1 and probably more to the point looking after me - made fab meals, made me go and sleep etc. Just a thought as another option, it suited us as I wasn't too keen on the idea of anyone living in when we were trying to get used to 2 new people in the house as it was. And might I say what lovely friends you are

From my research it is about the same cost to have either a live out mat nurse coming in for 10-12 hours as it is to have someone live in for 24 hours. One thing to bear in mind is that once you have booked them you pay regardless of whether the babies are actually home yet so I would hold off as long as possible. I had twins at 30 weeks and they are still in the neonatal unit 7 weeks later - no serious health issues now thank goodness but it is taking them much longer to establish feeding than we thought.

Where in the country are you? It might be worth going over to the childminder board as many of us know M nurses that we could recommend.

Lovely gift BTW!

I work as a maternity night nanny and post natal doula

A live in mat nurse will be about £150 - £200 per 24 hours for twins

A night nanny will be about £150 - £200 per 10 hour night for twins

AS doula will vary but will generally charge an hourly figure. Most doulas charge the same regardless of how many babies there are.

Please check refs very carefully, make sure the person has extensive new born experinece (ideally someone who has multiples experinece). Ideally they should also have a CRB and public liability insurance.

Yes what a lovey idea. However you may want to ask your friend what type of help she would prefer. If she is bf then a night nanny would be great as she could get some rest but have the days to herself.

I've had several families with twins so I would also say to get someone with multiple baby experience and maybe with experience of prem babies. One family I worked for had twins that were 10 weeks early so were in hospital for quite a while.

Depending on area and experience would determine the cost. CRB and refs would be essential.

I was given a questionaire from an agency recently which I thought would be useful for clients. I'll dig it out and post some of the questions if you like.

Thanks everyone - this is all really useful. I hadn't realised the distinction between maternity nurses and night nannys. My friend definitely wants the support at night time as she really wants to bf. We've had a chat (she has just moved and has no internet just to complicate things) and I think we're moving towards the night nanny scenario a la londonlottie.

navyeyelasH - we're SW London. I'll have a look at the childminders board too

Poshtottie - those questions would be really useful if you can find them.

Thanks again - just great to get so much advice.

just come across this thread. I had a post natal doula who helped at night too and was excellent with her breastfeeding help. i'm still breastfeeding 9 months on. siobhan pearce - sunshine doula. good luck

We were fortunate to find an amzing night nanny for our triplet daughters (thank you Paula!). Her help and guidance was invaluable, and not only did it allow me to breastfeed, but by the time she left us we had three babies who happily slept through the night. Paula has already laid out her charges above. She was worth every penny. We found Paula via thebabyworksonline.co.uk.

Thanks daxibaby & AnnaOD - looks like we've found someone (twins are coming home at the end of the week), but good to have your recommendations just in case.

fruji,

So sorry, I forgot to post those questions. Sounds like you are sorted though.

What lovely friends you are.