Hiring a Baby Nurse for Your Newborn

Experts explain what to look for when you're in the market for a baby nurse, nanny, or doula.

By Denise Mann
WebMD Feature

Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD

Let me start by saying I loved our first baby nurse, Vaneesha, until I met our second baby nurse, Veronica. It's not that I am fickle, it's that as a first-time mother I had absolutely no idea what a baby nurse (let alone a newborn) did.

Vaneesha slept all day as I hobbled around the apartment trying to calm my seemingly inconsolable son and avoid waking her. At night, she let him sleep in his stroller and as a result, he developed a flat spot on his head. She fed him every time he cried, didn't attempt to differentiate between night and day, and bathed him whenever she felt like it -- sometimes at 4 a.m. All this for $1,400 a week.

When Vaneesha's stint was over, my sister insisted I hire Veronica for two weeks to get me on a schedule. Veronica quickly helped me get Teddy into a manageable routine which included a regular bath time, scheduled feedings (not just a la carte offerings), long walks in the park, naps, and a bedtime. It made all the difference.

But hindsight is always 20/20.

Here's what I wish I knew then about how to hire, train, and treat child-care professionals.

Baby Nurse

Approximate cost: Roughly $200 a day, but varies geographically.
Time frame: birth to 3 months.

Baby nurses are not usually registered nurses (RN). They are newborn-care specialists.

"A baby nurse has experience handling a baby from the day it is born until about 3 months," explains Douglas Kozinn, the president of Absolute Best Care, an agency specializing in the placement of nurses and nannies.

"It's a short-term, round-the-clock job," he says. "Baby nurses should sleep when the baby sleeps and develop sleep patterns around the newborn," he tells me now.

The average family may use a baby nurse for three to four weeks. "If money is not an issue, the baby nurse may stay as long as 10 months." I've asked around and the longest I have heard of is 2.5 years. (That person is my idol and a multimillionaire.)

But cost is usually an obstacle. Baby nurses cost about $200 a day and according to Kozinn, this amount is twice as high on the West Coast.