Newborn Care
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Morningside Nannies will find you a Newborn Care Specialist with the same meticulous methods we use to find a long term nanny or temporary nanny. Please use the Long Term Nanny registration form to give us your needs and to start our search process. Click on the "How to Get Started" in the main menu bar above. Click here for basic rates.
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What is a Newborn Specialist?
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A newborn specialist has been commonly referred to as a “baby nurse” or “Babynurse”
until 2005 when a law was passed in many states, including Texas, making it a felony to
use the title of “nurse” by any individual who was not a licensed nurse and had not
graduated from a nursing school. Though there are some registered or practical nurses
working in this field, most “baby nurses” have learned their skills through experience.
Some have worked in hospital maternity wards or newborn nurseries as nurses’ aides or
as volunteers, others have been formally trained in infant care, and some are experienced
mothers that have a golden touch when it comes to caring for newborns and find this field
to be a natural calling. A good newborn specialist should be well experienced, have
glowing professional references, be currently certified in infant CPR and First Aid,
and relate well to the parent that employs them. A newborn specialist is a caregiver as
well as a teacher.
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What does a newborn specialist do?
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A newborn specialist comes into your home during the early weeks of your newborn’s
life to assist you with the daily care of your precious new baby or babies. She may work
a few hours during the day or evening or she may be with you for 24 hours of every
day for as long as you need her. Some parents opt to have her arrive early in the evening
to take charge of bathing and settling the newborn down for the night while the new
parents eat a relaxing dinner and enjoy one another’s company. Other parents may
decide to bring in a newborn specialist for just a few nights or for a few weeks when they
are returning to work after a maternity leave. When your baby is old enough to be
sleeping through the night, sleep training by a specialist may help your baby learn to
sleep eight to ten hours without waking for a feeding. Some parents may choose to hire a
newborn specialist to train a new nanny.
The caregiver typically sleeps in the baby’s nursery and when the baby wakes for a
feeding she will change the baby’s diaper and either bring the baby to mom if she is
breastfeeding or prepare a bottle and feed the baby herself without waking the
parent.
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A newborn specialist will ease the stress of caring for multiples.
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Most parents are overwhelmed when they are about to take home their two, three or more
newborns. Many times multiples arrive a bit early or have low birth weights and are
considered preemies, thus they have special needs. An experienced newborn specialist
is aware of the concerns regarding premature babies and will alert the parent if there is
anything that is unusual. A newborn specialist that is experienced with caring for
multiples can teach the new parents how to feed, bathe and care for two or more
infants by setting schedules and making the day-to-day care run smoothly. It is rare to
find multiples that sleep at the same time and parents of multiples find it next to
impossible to take care of the simplest of daily tasks for themselves or catch a few hours
of sleep. A newborn specialist can step in and give the parent the needed rest or free
time to ease the stress of caring for multiples.
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How do you schedule a newborn specialist?
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It is advisable to secure your newborn specialist as early as possible. Once you choose
the newborn specialist that is right for you, she may send you a contract and request a
retainer. Many of the newborn specialists that are in high demand will look for a
commitment from you before locking your dates in their calendar.
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What can you expect a newborn specialist to do?
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You may choose to have her involved with setting up the nursery and advising you before
the birth of your baby or babies. If she is to arrive when the baby or babies are born the
following duties are what should be expected of any professional newborn specialist.
- Clean and sterilize bottles if you are not breastfeeding 24-hours
- Prepare the formula if you are not breastfeeding 24-hours
- Feed and change the baby or babies
- Keep a log of feedings and diaper changes
- Change clothes and bedding as needed
- Launder clothes and bedding if 24-hour care
- Establish a feeding and sleeping schedule if 24-hour care
- Alert you when supplies are needed
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