The majority of parents have experienced sleepless nights trying to sleep train their babies and feeling like a zombie the next morning.
But they may be able to skip over that difficult stage and get the sleep they need.
Jessica Rose Harper is a night nanny, though her real title is Newborn Care Specialist and Postpartum Doula. She is hired by families to come to their homes at night to sleep train and care for newborns.
“Typically, families will hire me before they have their baby, and I will come the night they come home from the hospital. I really just help them adjust to life postpartum because it changes so much when you have a baby,” Harper explains.
Harper says though her focus is on the baby, she can help moms with nursing and recovery from birth.
“Just the fact of getting sleep- sleep is so important for recovery. If you have a C-section, you really need that sleep to be able to recover, and if you’re nursing that’s even harder,” she says. “So just to be able to get that rest really helps, and it actually has been proven to decrease the risk of postpartum depression as well.”
Harper owns Jessica Rose Newborn Care, which provides services related to newborn care, according to the business’ website. She also works for The Baby Hive, a business that also provides newborn care.
According to Harper, a typical shift for a night nanny lasts from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. It will begin with her arriving and speaking with parents for about 15 minutes to check in on how the day has gone and providing education about topics such as swaddling. She might make suggestions on how to make the next day run more smoothly.
Next, she says the parents will go to sleep and she will check on the baby and wash bottles for nighttime feedings. Throughout the night she will provide care for the baby- burping, feeding, and changing them as needed. Harper says she will keep an in-depth log throughout the night of what happened and will write a summary of the night for the parents before heading out in the morning.
Nighttime care also involves sleep conditioning, she says.
“Really it’s building healthy sleep habits within the first couple weeks, so around three weeks we really work on their sleep environment: make sure they’re swaddled with sound and in the dark,” she explains. “As they get older, around six or eight weeks, we focus a little more on how much they’re eating and when, and that’s when they really start doing some longer stretches at night.”
Harper says she is taking precautions during the pandemic, such as just visiting one family at a time and wearing a mask overnight.
“It’s really just tailored to the family…, she says. “We’re really doing what families are asking for, whatever makes them feel comfortable.”
But is there a certain type of parent or family that usually invests in a night nanny? Harper says it’s very diverse, but she often sees families with twins or parents with demanding careers who need a good night’s sleep hire night nannies.
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