baby nurse

hi. anyone getting a baby nurse after they give birth? i was just wondering how long you'll be hiring one for and if there are any recommendations for a baby nurse in Los Angeles.

thanks!

 

I just hope to have my friends and family help out in the beginning when they can.

 

My husband and I don't have any family living nearby so we are going to have a night nurse come once a week after the babies arrive. We would like for more but the service we chose is expensive. We're from the Boston area so no recommendations for Los Angeles. Is there a mother of multiples support group in your area where you can get recommendations?

Good luck!

 

My in-laws wanted to give us a night nurse a few nights a week as a gift after the triplets were born. Living in a smaller town, night nurses were not listed in the yellow pages. Fortunately, our smaller town is a college town. I knew a few education professors and put the word out that we were looking for help. We ended up with two early childhood special ed. majors who took turns caring for the trips from 11-7, 2-3 nights a week.They would change and feed all of them for the first feeding (2:00), change and feed two and bring me one the second time to nurse (4:00), and change and feed all again right around 7:00. I could sleep until maybe 8 or 8:30! I got more sleep then than I do now. It was the BEST MONEY WE EVER SPENT! Looking back, I'd rather have help at night than during the day. Good Luck!

 

QUOTE(fishfood2 @ Feb 25 2008, 08:53 PM) [snapback]640355[/snapback]
hi. anyone getting a baby nurse after they give birth? i was just wondering how long you'll be hiring one for and if there are any recommendations for a baby nurse in Los Angeles.

thanks!

Yes, we are getting a night nanny for 5 days and day nanny for 3 days. $$$ but need the help. We're fortunate that
we can afford it. Our nannies will start when the girls come home. I was referred through my peri. They all seem
nice. I've been in touch with them while here on bed rest in the hospital. My specialist has tripletts that are 3 so he
doesn't need them as much anymore. Ask your Dr.'s and the hospital, they may have referrals?
My husband and I interviewed them and felt pretty comfortable. But we will do a background and drug test on them.
Good-luck!

Tina

 

My mom gave us the gift of a night nurse for the first 2 weeks. It was great, because she stayed in the house, and when DH had to drive me to the OB's office for checks--my incision got infected, we were able to leave the boys home. She also did their laundry because she was bored during the day--she was off duty unless we needed her for something specific. It was great also, because it allowed me to recover from surgery with a full nights sleep! I do have to say when she left after the 2 weeks, I was ready to go it on my own!

 

I would definately get a baby nurse for night time to help out but we live in a small town in Vermont and it is really hard to find someone like that. I have been trying. At this point, I am seeking out post partum doulas and visiting nurse organizations. I have an interview with a doula on Thursday that will hopefully go well although she is not able to committ as much time as we would like. I would like someone to come and stay with us for 2 weeks after the babies are born.

I think baby nurse is a bit of an outdated term and post partum doula seems to be a little more of a contemporary. You might search that. THey also have organizations that certify these people.

 

We had night help, 3 nights a week, 8 hours a night, a lot of $$$$ but worth every single penny. After a well rested night, I could easily deal with the 3 kids. While after a bad night of sleep ... no explanation necessary. I think night help at first is way more valuable than day help. When the twins were 10 weeks we changed from night to day. At that point, my twin girl was already sleeping 10 hours straight, waking once around 4-5 am and my boy twice (midnight and also 4-5 am). I was in Chicago. We had a local parent's network where I found the agency. Definitely check yellow pages, local baby center board, possibly Craigslist, nanny agencies, etc. Especially in LA you should be able to find somebody.

 

If we'd have been able to swing it financially I would have hired one when we brought our twins home - the first few weeks were so hard. I was lucky to have my sister come stay with me for a week but then I was pretty much on my own - except for hubby helping with the occasional overnight. I remember around the 8th week (a week after I went back to work) I almost fell asleep driving home from my office because I was so sleep deprived. Thankfully the babies turned a corner on sleeping overnight a couple weeks later and they've been dream sleepers ever since.

I say if you have the resources by all means hire one! I would try an agency - I am sure there are plenty o' reputable agencies in LA. Good luck to you.