Night nanny

[flutterby]

I'm due to have twins in March and wondered if anyone has used a night nanny and how that worked out?

As I don't have family close by I'll be looking after the babies - my first! - solo during the day, with an hour or so respite from my husband when he gets back from work.... hence the need for someone to give me a hand at night.

I'd love to hear from mum's who've been through similar and get some recommendations, advice and tips. Or, if mums think I'll be taking on too much even with help at night, then perhaps a word of warning.... its all new to me.

Thanks,

F x

[The Nappy Lady]

Hi Flutterby,

Congratulations. If you can find a lady who posts on here under the name 'snowboarder' she might be able to advise on a night nanny.

You might also want to investigate having a post birth Doula (they are a bit like a Mother's Help), and you can book them to come in for a set number of hours after the babies arrive to help out with various tasks (each Doula varies as to what they will do exactly), some are more baby focussed, some will help with meals etc. The website doulauk would be a good place to start, and will have a list of Doula's in your area.

A friend had twins 2 years ago, and I think having some help is a very good idea. Also, for her having a really strict routine was the only way to survive during the first crazy year - maybe harder initially but I think with 2 to cope with it does pay dividends - also something a nanny/Doula may be able to help you with.

All the very best.

xx

[alieh]

My friend is due twins in March and has hired a maternity nurse to help out at night for the same reasons you describe. She's in north London but I can ask her how she found the person she hired if you don't have any luck with recommendations on here?

[uptime]

Hi F, we hired a maternity nurse for weeks 3-5 for our (first) baby because my husband was out of action for those weeks. It was an absolute godsend and stopped me from losing the plot. As you probably know, a maternity nurse lives with you 24 hours a day but (not surprisingly) a night nanny works only nights. That said, the cost is practically the same. For a night nanny, you'd be looking at about ?125 per night including the agency fee. Please feel free to PM me with your tel number if you want further info on my experience and I'll give you a call.

[Carrie]

Have you joined Dulwich and District Twins Club when I had my twins (back in the days of Yore) they had a scheme where a Mum with older twins would come round both before and after the birth - not to help out in any practical way but it was great as moral support - and you may get recommendations from someone at the club who has used a night nanny. Youwill meet other mums in your position -for a first time mum having twins is such a different experience to having a singleton - 17 years later I would say that my best friends are other mums I met at the twins club!

[dsaywell]

Hi there Flutterby

I'm the Membership Secretary for the Dulwich and District Twins Club and I'd be happy to send around an email about a night nanny to our 120 or so members if that helps. If you are interested in joining the Club, please also contact me - it's just ?12 / year or free to single parents. We've an Expectant Parents evening on 23 February - this might help too.

Contact me at dsaywell@npg.org.uk and I'll send you more information or I'll run through what works best in terms of an email and getting a good set of responses from our Members.

Regards

David (Dad to Eve and Leah, now 4 years old)

[dsaywell]

Carrie

It was great to see your message and find out a bit more about past history of the Dulwich and District Twins Club - we have been trying to find out when the Club was started and knowledge has tended to stop around 2000, so very useful to know it was around in 1994. Do you have any more information? We'd love to put some early history into the newsletter!

David Saywell (Membership Secretary, and Dad to Eve and Leah, now 4 years old)

[Fuschia]

I must say though that I find the first few months of a baby is not the hardest bit (even twins) ad I'd prefer practical help in the house daytimes (cleaner/mothers help) but then I wouldn't want an "expert" interfering.

[new mother]

Flutterby, Congrats, how exciting! New babies sleep a lot, of course just not always when you want them to. We decided to get mega help in the house instead. Our reasoning was that I would not accept the views of a young woman maternity nurse and I would feel compelled to HELP an old one to sleep and do her job so what was the point. (More fool me!) We agreed that we would reserve the right to get someone in later on if we were tired but we didn't need to as they both slept through around 7 or 8 weeks.

I had a mega burst of energy - god it was wonderful and I realised how lucky people with high natural levels of energy are in life - for 3 months but it tailed off slowly over that period. It meant that I got lots of stupid jobs done that I had been putting off for ages. Crazy with new babies but I felt able to.

However, this energy thing is not guaranteed from talking around so, incase not, get the jobs done now.

You are about to embark on the most wonderful few months of your life. I'd love to be at that stage again. Enjoy it. :-))))

[flutterby]

Thank you to everyone for congrats, views and helpful hints.

We have found someone to help us out for the first few weeks, then my husband is taking some annual leave - so for the first month or so, I'll have a trusty aide.

I've also joined the Dulwich twins club which will be a great source of support and help no doubt. Oh, and I also just picked up a book on twins and multiple births from the library. I know nothing can quite fully prepare me but this is a good start.