Did anyone have an overnight doula?

[gollyimholly]

I'm looking into an overnight doula. I'm pregnant with my second and my DD will be nearly 3 when her sibling arrives.

I wanted to ask what your experience was and how long over the night and how many days/weeks they came for postpartum. And if you didn't mind sharing, what the rough cost was?

Also if you had a good experience with them and felt you trusted them?

I already feel exhausted and would love some extra help if I can get it.

Thank you in advance x

Yes for my second child - 4 nights per week for the first week and 3 nights per week for the next 3 weeks. It saved me. I felt like I’d be pouring money down the drain but it was transformative, and allowed me to properly recover. It was amazing. She came 9pm to 7am, looked after the baby at night while I slept and woke me to give me the baby just to breastfeed, while she sat with me. £200/night but that was 2 years ago so probably more now.

good luck x

That's so helpful, thank you! That sounds ideal! Where did you search for one? And did you hold interviews to see who you felt most comfortable with?
Thank you xx

I had a recommendation from someone who had used the same night nurse. She was Norland trained and extremely professional, and came with a great CV and references. I recommend word of mouth, or going through an agency like Harmony at Home. They are there exclusively to look after the new baby though, not the other little one. Other sites like Childcare are okay I think but there was just too much to sift through and no one who I trusted enough with something so important.

I should add that my husband was working all hours and it was a pretty critical time, so this allowed everyone in the house to sleep and recover. As it turned out we all came down with nursery bugs at the same time so I was even more unexpectedly grateful for the help. No family etc in the country who could help us, and honestly there’s a lot to be said anyway for not having the strings attached to that sort of thing too.