maternity nurses - good/bad experiences?

[silvermum]

i'm thinking of taking on a maternity nurse for our second LO and would be interested in tips from anyone else who's used one. this would be a huge cost for us so i want to think carefully about whether it is worth it and for how long we might have her for. i have no family nearby and managed pretty much by myself first time round with la few hours help from a postnatal doula and lots of help from DH but it was really tough and i had no chance at all to recover from a very long traumatic labour and birth. needless to say it was absolutely worth it and i'm sure it will be much easier second time round, but the thought of someone helping with the nights is very appealing. obviously a mat nurse is a massive luxury and we are lucky even to be able to consider it. my DS will be 20 months old when the LO comes along.

[PeachyHidingInTheShed]

post on april 08 postnatal thread, lady on there had one few weeks ago