My Night as a Newborn Care Specialist
The number one question I get: “So, what does a Newborn Care Specialist do?” But to put it simply, a Newborn Care Specialist (NCS) does so much more than “wake up with the baby while the parents sleep.”
If you aren’t familiar with the title Newborn Care Specialist, that’s okay! You’ve likely heard the title’s Night Nanny, Night Nurse, or Newborn Nurse. The difference between a Newborn Care Specialist and a Night Nanny is a significant amount of training. Newborn Care Specialists have completed course requirements and will have a Certificate of Completion. Advanced Newborn Care Specialist may also have an been credentialed by the International Nanny Assoication, or Certified with the Newborn Care Specialist Assoication (NCSA) or CACHE. However, NCS may not title themselves Night Nurse’s or Newborn Nurse’s, unless they have a nursing degree and proper licensing for their state.
I am an International Nanny Association Credentialed Newborn Care Specialist, working towards my Certification with the NCSA.
Arrive: I arrive to my clients home to start my shift at 9:00pm. Upon arrival, I greet everyone and we dive into a briefing on how the day or days prior went. This is a perfect time to discuss how feedings went during the day, address any parent questions, and come up with a game plan for the night, if needed. If we are working through a transition (like swaddle to sleepsack, or weaning out a feeding) then I’ll let the parents know what method or plan I have in place.
Trade Off: After the briefing, I will make sure my hands are freshly washed to handle baby and I’ll make sure they have clean linens, swaddles, and bottles ready to go for the evening.
Throughout the Night: Each time baby wakes up, I will promptly check on baby to address their needs. Sometimes this means I just stand nearby and observe baby, checking to see if they are actually awake or just in an active REM sleep cycle. (Note: caregivers often disrupt babies throughout the night, over antipating their wake times, and not allowing baby to resettle on their own. If baby is not crying, I leave them, and observe their movements and sounds.)
Diapering, Feeding, Burping: In that order, baby will be met with a clean diaper and feeding at appropiate times. If the mother is choosing to breastfeed, I will change babies diaper and bring the baby to her. From my Apple Watch, I’ll wait for her to text me and let me know that baby is finished eating. I will retrieve baby, making sure Mom has everything she needs, and then finish burping baby and reswaddling them, before settling them back into their crib or bassinet.
Maintaining the Communication Log: There are many ways to track baby’s diapers, feeds, sleep, and other notes. You can use paper and pen, an app like Huckleberry or Glow Baby, or a text message. I like to record times of feeding as well as the ounces consumed, and types of diapers, bowel movements and wet. This helps parents and caregivers track patterns as well as early detection of anything concerning (like dehydration, constipation, or low liquid consumption).
I Rest, too: While baby is sleeping, after all their needs have been met, I will also rest or sleep. I require that all of my clients provide a bed in a private room (guest room or nursery). Remember, babies sleep in optimal sleeping enviroments right? It’s dark, its the perfect temperature, and there is probably White Noise playing on a sound machine nearby. It would be difficult for your NCS to stay awake in those perfect sleeping conditions without making any noise or being disruptive to the baby. If Awake Care is required, it needs to be dicussed with the NCS prior to beginning services, and should be compensated at 1.5-2x the NCS’s standard hourly rate.
Support Breastfeeding and Pumping: Whenever I have clients that are pumping, I encourage them to alert me to their pumping schedule. I reccomend that they leave a small basket outside their Primary Room door where they can put their freshly expressed milk, and then I can bag, date, time, and refridgerate or freeze the milk. I will then wash the pump parts and replace them in the basket for the next pumping session. This allows my clients to stay close to their bed, not navigating the kitchen, which is turn allows them to get more sleep.
Morning Clean Up: Each day before I leave my shift at 7am, I make the bed I used, quietly tidy up any items I used overnight, and then I wash and sertilize all the breastpump and bottles from the night prior. My goal is to leave the family with a fresh slate each morning, not a sink full of items to wash!
Morning Brief: Before leaving, I give a quick run down of how the night was. While they will find a repeat of this in their Communication Log of choice, I find it more personal to give a quick verbal run-down as well.
