On Night Nannies

For some, there is a stigma attached to having a night nurse, as if you are somehow outsourcing motherhood. But for others (like one of us) it was a life saver. We thought that it would be helpful to share our experience. At moomboo corner we belive that there is nothing wrong with getting some help once in a while!

For those who do not know, here is how it works in London. The night nurse comes to your place usually around 7.00 or 8.00 pm. She helps with the bath, night feed and to get the baby to sleep. But where the real value of it comes in, is during those feeds at 2, 3 or 4 am; by the time you have fed, changed and settled the baby, you feel like it is time to get up again! The night nurse, takes care of all of this so you can either feed and then go straight back to sleep or even express so you can get a proper night sleep (well, until your breasts feel like they will explode, that is). She then leaves at 7.00 or 8.00 am when you have hopefully had a good night sleep and are ready to start the day. During the first few weeks, I was so obsessed with whether baby was still breathing, that I only slept when the night nurse was around.

Granted, it is a very personal/ intrusive thing. My night nurse would bring the baby into our room for a feed in the middle of the night and come and take her away – all this whilst my husband was snoring next to me blissfully. That is why it is important to chose the right person and keep the same person with whom you will build a rapport. Some agencies that send a different person each time have probably put people off by making what is a really personal thing, quite impersonal and business like.

The best night nurses, and I can say that I was lucky enough to have one of them, will also start sleep training the baby at an early age (from a week old or so) so that by the time they go, baby is close to or actually sleeps through the night. An added bonus for clueless people like me, was that I actually learned how to do most baby things from the night nurse. She taught me how to bathe, change, feed the baby. She even helped with establishing breast-feeding and expressing. The moomboo came in so handy; baby would sleep in our room and move to the nursery when the night nurse was there. The moomboo made the transition from one room to the other very smooth.

Having a night nurse is expensive, there is no way around that (usually ranging from £100 to £180 per night). But it really depends on how much value you place on your sleep and if you take into account the added benefits (i.e. that you do not have to check if the baby is breathing or not every 5 minutes), it is definitely worth it.

Choose someone you like and that will make the experience 100 times better. During the precious first months a good night nurse will enhance your confidence and help you enjoy the experience more. Try Carol Mae Consulting (http://www.carolmaeconsulting.co.uk/) for a very personal and unique experience or Night Nannies (http://www.nightnannies.com/).

Share your night nurse experience with us.

Moomboo is coming soon!

Moomboo (SleepPlayChange) is a multifunctional baby sleeping pod that will provide babies with comfortable stability and parents with mobility. Moomboo’s purpose is to make babies and parents happier. Because moomboo helps babies develop healthy sleeping habits in a safe environment, parents maximise their own sleep time, and can thus maintain their mobile lifestyle. Here is how it works:

 

Stage 1: Moomboo allows babies to co-sleep safely with their parents in those first few weeks.  Moomboo encompasses the baby recreating the womblike environment (warmth, coziness and safety), and simultaneously creates a safe barrier between parent and child. We know those first few nights can be stressful, so moomboo wants to make them as enjoyable as possible.

Stage 2: As the baby grows and is ready to sleep a little further away, you can transition moomboo onto its specially designed stand (which incidentally helps babies who suffer from silent/regular reflux and/or colds) with minimal disruption. The baby continues to sleep in the same womblike atmosphere close to your bed, but slowly gets used to having a bit more space for itself.

As you begin to sleep train your child in those first few months, you’ll notice they will start getting up early but not wanting food. That is where moomboo’s baby play insert comes in handy. Just pop it onto moomboo and let the baby amaze at their new play area and beautiful dangling objects in the comfort of their own beds.

Stage 3: Once your baby is a little older, and its ready to transition into is own crib or cot, moomboo helps minimize what can be the most stressful period in the baby’s first 6 months. By placing moomboo inside the baby’s crib/cot, the baby will continue to recognize the comfortable shape, its smell and warmth, and feel more at ease in their new environment.

What is great about moomboo for parents and babies alike, is that it can collapse into a small, portable travel pod which you can take with you to mom’s house or on your carrier luggage on a plane. This means your baby never has to go without its sleeping pod, play gym and changing station, no matter where in the world you are. This allows parents to sleep train their babies with consistency, minimising variables that may prevent babies (and parents) from catching those additional zzzzzz’s! The comfortable, anti-bacterial product, and indentation of the pod, make it the safest sleeping alternative for your baby, largely reducing the chance of SIDS, and giving you peace of mind that your baby has the very best.

The greatest gift you can give a baby (and yourself!) is teaching them how to sleep, so they can be happy, healthy and well rested. Moomboo’s mission is to do just that – help your baby so you canfeel proud and confident that you’ve given them the very best!

As moomboo gets closer to its release, we will update you with more information.

Founded by two very mobile new moms who witnessed the benefits of sleep training their babies early on, but saw their efforts go to waste every time they traveled, we want to save new parents from buying as many duplicative gadgets and making as many mistakes as we did in our first few months. In this blog, we will share our best travel, sleep training, and efficient baby gadget buying tips. So watch this space and let us know what you think!!!