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Taking care of a newborn is hard! New parents are given no training, and expected to “know” what to do, but nothing could be further from the truth. The reality is that mothers are recovering from giving birth, and both parents are learning how to integrate a newborn into their family life. It’s overwhelmingly difficult to process it all, let alone figure out when to pump, how to swaddle properly, or even how to start a feeding schedule that won’t leave you feeling like a zombie.
The newborn phase is a transition period with so many of its own unique challenges that many doctors refer to that initial 12-week period as the “fourth trimester,” and say it’s a critical time to have a support network in place.
For some parents, that might mean having their own parents or families on hand for extra support.
“Parents or families who can come in and stay with you for a while can make so much of a difference in just lifting that load,” says Dr. Andrea Braden, an OB-GYN. “If you have a healthy relationship with your family, it can be super helpful.”
But for many new parents having family support isn’t an option. My mother passed away before my children were born, so I didn’t have the benefit of her stepping in to guide me on all the intricacies of taking care of a newborn. But even if she had been here to help, she would be the first to tell you she was not an expert. A lot has changed in the parenting world in the last 25-30 years!
Thankfully, there are experts who can help take care of your baby and help you and your partner adjust to being parents, whether that’s through the support of a newborn care specialist, a doula, or a night nanny.
“These are people who recreate that village. They become part of that family that is missing and come into the house and know what to do,” Braden says.
To help you figure out which type of help is right for you, we go through 4 of the best newborn care experts who can help with all the various challenges…
Skip Ahead: Newborn Care Specialist & Other Baby Experts
What Is A Newborn Care Specialist?
The term “newborn care specialist” is fairly new, though the position itself isn’t. You’ve probably heard them referred to colloquially as a “baby nurse” or “night nurse” (though most are not registered nurses). A newborn care specialist is trained specifically in taking care of a newborn up to the age of 16 weeks and their main focus is on providing advice on the needs of the baby.
They will usually greet parents at the door when they get home from the hospital, or at minimum, be there by 8 pm on the first night. It’s honestly so comforting to get home from the hospital and have this kind of support waiting for you. It will give you such peace of mind.
Over the next few weeks, a newborn care specialist will give you advice and help you with everything you need to know when taking care of a newborn. Some of the things I remember our newborn care specialist teaching us were how to swaddle correctly (tighter than you think!), feed on schedule (not on demand), and burp with purpose. For example, I thought burping was just a cute love tap, but she showed me the right hand motions to actually get the air out. These things would have been a lot harder to learn without her expertise!
A newborn care specialist will usually sleep in a room next to the baby’s room or in the same room as the baby, and tackle the overnight care so parents can sleep. Our newborn care specialist worked an 8-hour shift, from 10 pm to 6 am, and stayed in a guest room with a baby monitor. That way the room the baby was sleeping in could stay free of outside stimulation.
Having a newborn can be exhausting.
We can help.
Is A Newborn Care Specialist Worth It?
Short answer: YES, 1000%! The real value is not just the emotional reassurance they provide both parents, but also all the hands-on training. Even something as seemingly simple as a bath is intimidating as all heck when you add in slippery water with a baby! Our newborn care specialist helped us think through the timeline of when to give our baby his first bath and made suggestions for how to set up the space to make it easier.
Here are all the things that a newborn care specialist can help with:
- feeding, bathing, and changing the infant
- washing/cleaning/sterilizing bottles and pump parts
- implementing a schedule for sleeping, meals, naps, and tummy time
- providing guidance on breastfeeding, pumping, and swaddling
- creating a low-stimulation and stress-free environment for both the baby and parents
If your newborn care specialist is also a trained sleep advisor for the baby — which many are — they can begin to educate you about circadian rhythms and break down how to teach a baby the skill of sleeping.
Skilled overnight support when you have a new baby?
Priceless!
Like I mentioned above, the real win is that a newborn care specialist will teach you how to do all of these important steps of caring for your newborn so that you feel more confident and rested as a new parent. They help break through all the noise of Google and even well-meaning friends and family. For example, I was also told by everyone under the sun not to pump right away. Our newborn care specialist was able to break down exactly when and how to incorporate pumping so that it didn’t interfere with our natural feeding schedules, and allowed me to sleep at night without waking up to engorged breasts (I still did, but it was less painful with her advice).
How To Hire A Newborn Care Specialist: Crunch Care is a great option for finding on-demand newborn care specialists. The hourly rate is a little higher ($45-$65/hr), but it’s pay-as-you-go and there are no placement or setup fees. If you do book again, they’ll do their best to match you with the same newborn care specialist. It's a great way to dip your toes in the water before committing to hiring a newborn care specialist. If you are looking to committ to hiring a newborn care specialist then we recommend Well Supported Family. They have a rigourous vetting process and work nationwide.
Newborn Care Specialist Investment Cost: ~$1,080/wk for overnight coverage 3 nights a week**
Time Reclaimed: ~30 hours/week, including both the physical time you save by being able to sleep and not having to research answers to your questions, as well as the mental time saved by not having to worry whether you're doing things right and the ease that comes with knowing an expert is watching your baby.
**Assumes $45/hr for 8 hours each day, newborn care specialists typically charge $40-$5/hour
Take our free quiz and get matched to the best newborn care specialist in your area, at the best price.
Differences Between A Newborn Care Specialist And A Postpartum Doula
Doulas are probably most known for supporting women during pregnancy and delivery. But many birth doulas will also stay on for up to 2 months after delivery to provide assistance during the transition period. There are also postpartum doulas who specialize exclusively in helping post-birth.
Postpartum doulas can perform a range of tasks, from information and guidance on things like lactation or bottle feeding to soothing techniques and what to expect in terms of newborn behavior. Doulas can also help with some of the daily tasks, like doing laundry or preparing a meal.
But what sets postpartum doulas apart from newborn care specialists is their focus on providing emotional support for the whole family during the transition time. While other experts’ primary focus will be on the baby, the main focus of a postpartum doula is on helping the mom and other family members — parents, siblings, grandparents — bond with the baby and integrate them into the family.
Postpartum doulas will ensure both parents feel comfortable with their new roles. Doulas are there to “provide education, nonjudgmental support, and companionship” to the parents, according to DONA International, a doula-certifying organization.
Your family is unique.
So is our postpartum care.
“Doulas provide excellent infant care, but their primary focus is educating and supporting parents,” writes DONA International. “By mothering the mother, the doula enables the new mother to recover from pregnancy and birth and focus her energy on bonding with her new baby.”
How To Hire A Postpartum Doula: For our North Carolina readers, we recommend Queen City Doulas for help finding a postpartum doula. For everywhere else, we recommend Well Supported Family. Dona International also has a database of certified doulas, and you can search specifically for postpartum doulas in your area, if you want to go the DIY route.
Postpartum Doula Investment Cost: $960/week, for 8 hours of care 3 days a week**
Time Reclaimed: at least 30 hours per week, including the mental time saved by not having to worry whether you're doing things right and the self-assurance you gain by having an expert and personal cheerleader on your team. You’ll also save physical time on daily tasks like laundry or light meal prep, and not having to research on the internet, read books, or watch videos for answers to your questions.
**Assumes an hourly rate of $40. Postpartum doulas usually charge $40-$45/hr
Take our free quiz and get matched to the best newborn experts in your area, at the best price.
Differences Between A Newborn Care Specialist And A Night Nanny
A night nanny is less expensive than a newborn care specialist. They also work overnight to attend to the baby’s needs, but they usually have less formal training than a newborn care specialist and often work under the guidance of the parents, rather than offering their own guidance and education, according to the Newborn Care Specialist Association.
One benefit of a night nanny is that they will often end up staying with families longer than newborn care specialists since their roles aren’t limited to taking care of a newborn and they can continue working for the family in varying capacities if desired.
If you have a newborn care specialist, a night nanny can fill in on the nights that a newborn care specialist can’t work. She will be a cherry on top. If you don’t have a newborn care specialist, scheduling a night nanny for three days a week for the first two to three months of your child’s life can really help you and your partner. I found I could sleep more soundly knowing someone was available for the baby, that wasn’t me or my partner.
If you decide to breastfeed, they will still wake you up to feed the baby, but handle the other tasks like burping and lulling them back to sleep. If you decide to do bottle feeding, you can get a solid eight-plus hours of sleep.
I’ve also found that night nannies are often very flexible with their hours, and can usually come earlier or stay later depending on your needs. We had ours stay later on some mornings so that we could sleep in, and we had her come early a few nights a week so we could go on a date!
How To Hire A Night Nanny: We recommend using Crunch Care to find a night nanny for your family. Special pricing for their services is available to Proxy subscribers.
Night Nanny Investment Cost: ~$840wk for overnight coverage 3 nights a week
Time Reclaimed: 24 hours/week (but your sleep is truly invaluable!)
**Assumes $35/hr for 8 hours each night
Sign up for Proxy, and we'll match you to the best night nanny in your area that we've personally vetted.
Differences Between A Newborn Care Specialist & A Newborn Sleep Expert
Like I mentioned above, many newborn care specialists are also experts when it comes to sleep — but not all sleep experts are newborn care specialists. Sleep training is an interesting industry. Every book I read on the topic sounded tedious and overwhelming. When I was first researching it, I came across many “experts” who are former moms with experience in sleep training multiple children (usually their own) who feel that they have cracked the code — possibly through trial and error, reading a ton of books, or maybe both.
I personally think the key is finding someone who won’t baby you — the parent — and instead advocate for the baby’s sleep needs. Yes, you need someone who will take the time to understand the nuances of your lifestyle and accommodate a sleep schedule that matches your day-to-day life. But the most important thing about sleep training is adhering to the appropriate wake windows. If you try to bend too many rules to accommodate your schedule as a parent, then you aren’t prioritizing sleep for the baby. A good sleep expert will remind you of this, gently but firmly. That’s what you are paying for.
Official “sleep training” — when babies learn how to fall asleep by themselves — doesn’t start until around 4 months. But I found it helpful to have someone who could teach me about healthy sleep habits for the baby when I first got home from the hospital so that we could start introducing the skill of sleeping to our little one early on.
“Sleep is absolutely job one — without sleep nothing else works,” says Davis Ehrler, of The 3 Day Sleep Solution, who was our newborn care specialist/sleep expert. “You can have a baby who eats well, but they do nothing else well. But a baby who sleeps well does everything well.”
Ehrler says there’s a lot to go over when it comes to the sleep of a newborn. She teaches parents about the appropriate wake windows for different ages, the importance of limiting stimulation in the first six weeks, and how to create the right sleep environment.
“Sleep is the cornerstone to good health,” she says.
How To Hire A Newborn Sleep Expert: Proxy subscribers can get up to $500 off services offered by The 3 Day Sleep Solution, including in-person and remote options. For the in-person option, Ehrler (who is also a postpartum doula/night nanny) will fly to stay with you for 3 days and 3 nights in your home. She will leave you with a written plan and the ability to text or call for any follow-up questions for 6 weeks. This service normally costs $5,100, but Proxy subscribers get $500 off.
Mommywise is another great company that we’ve vetted for finding a sleep expert for your newborn. All of their experts have been trained in a specialty role that’s a combination of a postpartum doula, newborn care specialist, lactation consultant, and sleep expert. One of their experts will fly to stay with you for 2 days and 3 nights in your home. They will leave you with a written plan and the ability to text or call for any follow-up questions for 4 weeks. Your baby must be at least 8 weeks old. This package costs $7,950, and you can save $500 as a Proxy subscriber.
For a virtual option, MyBaby Sleepology offers 2 weeks of remote sleep training support and a personalized plan created by a sleep training specialist that is based on your baby’s age-appropriate milestones and your family’s lifestyle. They have a program especially for newborns to set them up for sleeping success. It costs $925 for a two-week program with a Sr. Consultant. Proxy subscribers save 15%.
Sleep Expert Investment Cost: $5,100 (Or, $4,600 with Proxy) to have a sleep expert fly to your house and stay with you for 3 days and 3 nights. She will leave you with a written plan and the ability to text or call for any follow-up questions for 6 weeks. Or, $925 ($786 with Proxy) for two weeks of virtual sleep training support.
Time Reclaimed: ~30 hours
Take our free quiz and we’ll match you with the best newborn sleep expert in your area that matches your budget and needs.
Which Newborn Specialist Is Right For Your Family?
While newborn care specialists, postpartum doulas, night nannies, and sleep experts are all technically different positions, nowadays it’s super common to find experts who are trained in multiple areas of taking care of a newborn. For example, Davis Ehrler from The 3 Day Sleep Solution, is a newborn care specialist, postpartum doula, and a sleep expert. (Plus, I’ve continued to work with her as a parenting coach.)
I found it was well worth the money for all the education, sleep, and emotional reassurance I received during those first three months. Having the support and guidance decreased my anxiety level to near zero (which coming from me, is a shock!) because she helped me understand what to expect literally week by week.
Beyond teaching us how to take care of our newborn, she also did laundry in the middle of the night, emptied our dishwasher, and cleaned my pump parts before and after date nights out. If I had had a third baby, I would have added meal prep and making crockpot meals to the chores a newborn care specialist or night nanny could have handled while we were sleeping.
It can be hard to decide which newborn specialist is right for you when you start your parenting journey.
“Everyone’s postpartum needs are different. You may need a large village, or you may only need a few people to lean on. Either way, it’s OK to ask for help,” writes OB-GYN Dr. Angelica Glover.
For help figuring out the right in-home newborn care for your family, sign up for Proxy, and we’ll instantly match you with professionals and services we suggest you hire within your budget and based on your needs. The newborn care services have all been personally vetted by me and my team, and are available at discounted rates. Get started with our free quiz, here.
