The terms "Baby Nurse”, “Night Nanny” and “Newborn Care Specialist” have all been used to describe those who assist new parents with their newborns. All of these terms are often used interchangeably. Although all three of these positions do have some common roles, in reality there is a vast difference between each of their duties. Understanding the differences can help make it easier for families to identify, which would be the best fit for their family.
A “Baby Nurse” is a registered RN or LPN who comes into a home to care for a newborn with medical issues. This can be very beneficial for those families who are facing the additional challenges of caring for a newborn with medical conditions.
A “Night Nanny” typically comes into a home at night to tend to a newborn. They are usually limited in their education in newborn issues and are simply responsible for following their client’s instructions. While this arrangement allows the parents to get much needed sleep, it limits the education that the parent's receive on how to properly care for their newborn. Unfortunately, many well-meaning parents instruct their “Night Nanny” to follow practices that are not in the best interest of their newborn’s development. These practices often have consequences that can lead to frustration for the newborn and the families for many months or even years down the road.
A “Newborn Care Specialist” (NCS) has received an education in newborn care and related issues. Their knowledge includes but is not limited to: Formulas and breastfeeding, understanding how to effectively set up a routine that fits the family’s lifestyle, ability to interpret and adequately respond to the baby’s needs, establish healthy sleep habits, know and identify different diaper rashes and treatments, circumcision care, how to relieve symptoms from reflux & colic, swaddling techniques, self-soothing techniques, and ultimately how to effectively set up the family for success. They will be experienced in preemies, multiples and babies with special needs. A "Newborn Care Specialist", will generally work with a family for as little as one week or as long as three months. A "Newborn Care Specialist" can provide the parents with much needed sleep at night, educate the parents of essential newborn care instructions, and be there to give ongoing support and advice. Most NCS are available at night, during the day, or even 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Most "Newborn Care Specialist" will provide sleep training services. Upon the culmination of this service and usually by the time the baby is 3 months old, the baby will be sleeping 10-12 hours a night.
A Certified Newborn Care Specialist has taken the additional steps to ensure that they have the most current education, continuing education hours and professional support. Hiring a Certified Newborn Care Specialist, will give clients confidence that they are hiring one of the elite professionals in newborn care, sleep training and newborn issues. A Certified Newborn Care Specialist will be able to walk parents through and support them with any newborn issue that arise.
Bringing home a baby is not always as simple as it may seem. There is a whole encyclopedia of information available to parents. Parents can read books and go to classes but often find that soothing and burping a doll or watching a video is less complicated then a real baby. They often find that once their newborn arrives home, all the knowledge in the world still doesn’t have them feeling prepared. They often desperately turn to friends, family members and books for more information. Unfortunately, this vast amount of information can be contradicting and overwhelming. Leaving the parents even more frustrated and unsure of which approach they should try.
Some examples of fundamentals that most new parents are simply unaware of are: The importance of an "Eat, Awake, Sleep" schedule and how that determines sleep patterns at night. The importance and benefits of swaddling a baby and the proper technique used in a swaddling procedure. Parents are often surprised to learn that a swaddled baby will sleep longer and more peacefully than an unswaddled baby. Knowing how much their newborn should be eating is also critical. The difference between an overfed baby and an underfed baby, which can be life threatening, can simply be 10 to 12 ounces a day!
It strongly recommended to conduct a complete background and reference check on any “Baby Nurse”, “Night Nanny”, “ Newborn Care Specialist", or "Certified Newborn Care Specialist" candidate. There are different levels of skills and qualifications among them all. Some have very little education while others are highly educated with advanced education and certifications.
Please feel free to contact Terian Johnston at sleepingnewborns@yahoo.com or (480) 707-3291 for additional information.
I have a group of excellant NCS that I work with. If I am not available, I will be happy to refer you to another NCS. Don't pay agency fees!
