Nannies who work nights

DumbBrunette

Hi guys

Really looking for some help here. My partner and I are having so much trouble performing at work because our wonderful DS is waking ever couple of hours through the night. He's nearly seven months and this has been going on for about two.

I'm a trainee accountant and for me busy season after Xmas means I'll be leaving him in to creche at 8am and probably not coming home till after 8pm. My partner does long hours too buy starts really early and then does pick-up.

The lack of sleep is tough enough already but once busy season kicks in I'm afraid it lead to me failing at my new job All the other trainees in my firm are fresh out of college and I don't think I'll be able to compete getting so little sleep (just two hours some nights)

Does anyone know if there is such a thing as a live-in nanny or au pair, who would be able to tend to our little boy on a few nights a week?? I'd do anything at this stage - we're both at breaking point.

Help:(

fits

Yes you can get a night nurse in for a break. Alot of parents of multiples get them in early weeks.
It sounds like both of you work super long hours. Is there any chance either of you could reduce hours a little?

brokensoul

Where are you based?

Dream team nannies in Cork do overnights 10pm to 8am. €130 per night though so you wouldn't be doing it every night!

We used them once a week when my twins were tiny, just so that at least we would get one proper night's sleep a week. You would be amazed how far you can go on the promise of a night's sleep to come!

shesty

Maybe also think about a system where one night of the week each, only one of you gets up and the other stays in bed.Or one of you sleeps in a spare room (depending on what way you are set up).Is he still in the room with you?
That way you would get another night, along with a nanny if you can get one.

PhoenixParker

Splitting nights also works for a lot of people.
One of you does all wake ups before 2am, the other everything after that.

That way you can each get a solid block of sleep.

bp

You could also try a sleep consultant, we used the one based in Cork (not sure if I am permitted name them). Phone consultations over 4 weeks. €350. No crying it out and sleeping through within a week. Child was same age as yours. Have used techniques on second child since

brokensoul

PhoenixParker wrote: »

Splitting nights also works for a lot of people.
One of you does all wake ups before 2am, the other everything after that.

That way you can each get a solid block of sleep.

This is what we did (apart from our night nanny night!) and it worked well for us. You have to be disciplined about going to bed early if you are on the late shift though.

2xj3hplqgsbkym

That sounds very tough.
I would asks reccommend a sleep consultant , of course get a night nanny in the mean time but long term it will be better.

January

A good night nanny will be able to work with you to put sleep patterns in place too.

catrionanic

Ah that is so tough. Have been through it myself, and at times I felt close to breaking point.

Is he breastfed or formula fed?

Can you take it in shifts somewhat - so you are each getting a couple of stints of 3-4 hours sleep?

Many people swear by sleep consultants. I considered it, but my wee boy is breastfed and night-weaning before 12 months is not recommended in BF babies, so I decided against it. It is also the case that a BF baby will feed more in the night when he is away from his mother throughout the day, to make up for all the milk he has missed. Which could explain it.

catrionanic

Ah that is so tough. Have been through it myself, and at times I felt close to breaking point.

Is he breastfed or formula fed?

Can you take it in shifts somewhat - so you are each getting a couple of stints of 3-4 hours sleep?

Many people swear by sleep consultants. I considered it, but my wee boy is breastfed and night-weaning before 12 months is not recommended in BF babies, so I decided against it. It is also the case that a BF baby will feed more in the night when he is away from his mother throughout the day, to make up for all the milk he has missed. Which could explain it.

shesty

Thinking about it though OP, I would expect a baby of 7 mths to wake a few times at night, the key is in how quickly you can settle him back to sleep.As he gets better at that, his wakings should reduce a bit.But most babies will wake at least once a night til they are well over 1 year old and it's normal.How well they resettle is really the big thing.

LilMrsDahamsta

Au pair couple? One does nights and the other does days instead of the crèche, or they split both. It will come out about the same in money as the crèche once you factor in food and utilities for 2 people, but you get your sleep back and your child has consistent care, which is important at such a young age. I've seen both pairs of female friends and girlfriend/boyfriend doing this.

mitresize5

From someone who endured this for two years trust me when I say you need to treat the cause, and not the symptom

The child needs a routine, we were all over the place on the first and had no idea what a proper routine was like.

We paid Lucy Wolfe

- shes not cheap (I hear shes €350 now)
- she wont hug it out with you, some people find her a bit gruff
- shes money orientated, if you need a follow up consultancy after your five sessions your charged again
- she works 9 to 5

but she works, we've recommended a good few people to her since and besides one person who just plain didnt get on with her, her approach has worked.

it cost 250e at the time, to be honest with you at that stage I'd have given her 2,500e. Im only half joking when I say she saved my marriage :-)

shesty

I didn't do a sleep consultant, but I do agree, a bit of tough love is required (no I don't mean cry it out).If you are breastfeeding, it's one problem. I would suggest now is the time to move the baby to his own room, assuming you haven't already.And after that it is unfortunately up to you to get him to understand that night time is for sleeping.I can't tell you how many nights I spent an hour here and there sitting on our landing at ungodly hours, going in and out to our pair at various ages.We never let them cry it out but we were perfectly clear that nighttime is for sleeping in your own bed.I would not expect them to sleep through at 7 months every night, but he should sleep good stretches at time and you should be able to mostly settle him back fairly quickly(teething and developmental leaps not included-it goes off the rails a bit then).But perseverance on your part is the key.

The biggest thing is-get him into good habits now while he's still small because the battle just gets a whole lot worse as he heads towards 12 months.