night nannies - has anyone used such things?

[jorange5]

I'm a SAHM so cash quite tight but we are DESPERATE!!! I have become obsessed with sleep and have been looking on the internet at night nannies, people thatcome to your home and get your baby sleeping through the night in return for a zillion quid. Apparently they don't leave your baby crying and stay with them the whole time but leave them in the cot. Does anyone know if they are always successful or not? God, I never thought I would consider this but the babe has beaten me!!

how old is your little one?

She is 7 months old and we live in SW London at the mo but move to north wales in 3 weeks. That is kind of why I am seriously thinking about it because I don't think there will be such a service in the 'wilds' up north!

I know what our problems are - she sleeps really well in a sling for naps in the day then at night I feed her to sleep then feed her when she wakes every 3 hours in the night. During the day she feeds less than at night.

I can kind of cope with it this way but she has now started waking and not going back to sleep and of course she will soon be too heavy to nap in a sling.

DP has a job requiring absolute concentration which isn't possible when he has been up half of the night so we are beginning to worry that if we don't do something soon his job will be at risk as well as our sanity!

NurseyJo please let me know about the nannies you recommend / your service.

wow, after writing all that i feel a bit of hope that life might improve a bit and we will stop resenting our amazing little girl! Thanks!

some doulas do overnight work, which is not the same as sleep training, but will allow you to sleep through the night !! 7 months is young in the grand scheme of things, things will change !!

Jorange5, I feel so sorry for you, I'm going through the same thing and am looking for a night nanny but they are so expensive - I can't believe you have to pay so much to get a decent night sleep - which is one of life's necessities!

NurseyJo, are you in London? Do you know of any sleep centres that you can visit with your baby?

Hi!
I too am desperate for a night nanny, even for just a few nights a week. How expensive is expensive, exactly? Does anyone know if they exist in Aberdeen? Thanks!

We would like to hire a night nanny too. Our 4 month old wakens every hour, although only needs fed once (between 4am and 5am). He often goes back to sleep quite quickly if you put his dummy back in, but when he grows out of his moses basket in the next few weeks we want to put him in his own room which will make replacing the dummy every hour V inconnvenient. How far in advance do you need to book a night nanny and how long do you need to hire them for to establish a good overnight sleeping pattern? Does anyone know of anyone I could use in Edinburgh?

what a great idea! Would have saved us many grey hairs if we had had one.

After contacting a few agencies, I decided I just couldn't afford it at the mo. So I bought a couple of telephone consultations instead. The first one went through a routine designed to fit my LO and a method of sleep training that isn't just leaving her to cry. The nest consultation is meant to be after a few days of sleep training. I used www.sleepnannies.co.uk

The consultation has made me feel very confident about doing it myself (have yet to start due to a stubborn cold) and the routine is working well so far.

Hopefully I wont update this after it has all failed miserably though!!

I'm doing 2 nights for a client of twins. I'm paid the same rate as I would charge in the day. I have ds 11 months during the day so it works well for me. I'm paid about the same as if I worked in the daytime.

jorange, I also had a telephone consultation with Melissa at sleepnannies but haven't started sleep training yet because DS has had a couple of colds and a tummy bug. I'm thinking of starting this Sunday when DH will be home to offer moral support, so will let you know how it goes. Fingers crossed...

Hi mamarug - We are going to start it too! I have yet to break it to DP but he will be starting it this thursday or friday night. I plan to stay at a friend's house for the first couple of nights!

I am half excited and half dreading it but the last few nights LO wanted to be up and about at 4.30 so determination has crept in!

i have never heard of night nannies. Ihad the same problem with my daughter, and belive me sometimes it doesnt change for yrs.

But i never even considered getting soemone else in. I was driven to distraction with tiredness, totally at the end of my tether. yet if you are hoping to nio this in the bud at 7 months and before you move? then i feel thats asking alot. or is it because you want to get more reat before you move, to help generally.

My dd is 5 and still struggles. good luck tho.

rest* not reat

Yeah, it's a big ask. We have moved now and LO is 8.5 months. She is so bad now that if we don't try something like this we will have to start laving her to cry - the thought of which horrors me.

I cannot continue getting up to her 4 times a night and literally fighting her to allow her to be rocked back to slep while she arches her back, pinches and grabs at me. She has no idea how to go back to sleep by herself and just cries. If nobody come she gets up, trots about the cot, falls then screams.

So I am going to try the stuff the consultation suggested and if it goes nowhere the proffessionals will be brought in!

jorange - good luck, would love to know how it goes for you