When you hire Rest Easy Newborn Care for overnight services, your newborn care specialist will come to your home and will tend to your baby's every need throughout the night. Your newborn care specialist will be responsible for:

• Changing diapers (disposable or cloth)

• Feeding (breastmilk or formula)

• Washing and sterilizing bottles and parts (including breast pump)

• Swaddling/putting baby to sleep

• Bathing

• ​Monitoring for medical concerns

• Utilizing techniques to encourage good sleep hygiene

• Formal sleep training at appropriate age

• Tracking baby’s activities (feeding, sleep time, diapers, etc)

• Washing baby’s laundry

• Cleaning/stocking nursery

• Monitoring for postpartum mood disorders in parents

• Providing referrals for services outside of NCS scope

• Utilizing specialized network of professionals for persistent or complex issues

Typically, your NCS will arrive before you go to bed in order to check in with you about any updates or concerns you may have. If your little one is still awake, your NCS can take over their care and you can get yourself to bed. You’ll be able to get a full night’s sleep while your NCS ensures your newborn is fed, changed, and put back to sleep throughout the night. While your baby sleeps your NCS will take care of any baby-related chores that need to be done, keeping your to-do list from growing overnight.

Overnight care is provided any day of the week in blocks of at least 8 hours. A typical overnight shift is 9:00 pm to 7:00 am, but the hours can be shifted to suit your schedule.

You may elect to utilize these services 1-7 days a week. Many families use overnight care 3-5 nights per week. It is also typical for families to use these services more frequently (i.e. 5 nights a week) when their baby is born, lowering the frequency of care once their child begins sleeping for longer stretches overnight and eventually ending overnight services once baby is sleeping through the night consistently.

Many families hire a Newborn Care Specialist for 6-12 weeks following the birth of their child(ren), but the length of time you choose to utilize services is completely up to you. If you're a seasoned parent who just needs some extra help adjusting to your new routine, perhaps two weeks is enough to leave you feeling supported and confident moving forward. If you're a new parent, you're expecting multiple babies (twins, triplets, etc) or know that your child will require extra care due to medical or developmental needs, perhaps you'll want services for several months. We can discuss your needs during a consultation if you're feeling unsure of what may be best for you.

Rest Easy overnight care can absolutely be helpful if you are breastfeeding! Throughout the night, you'll need to wake in order to breastfeed your newborn, but with a Newborn Care Specialist (NCS) to assist you, you can do it from the comfort of your bed and be back to sleep immediately after feedings.

Your NCS will bring baby to you and will make sure you have everything you need to breastfeed comfortably. After you've finished feeding your baby, your NCS will handle burping, changing their diaper, and soothing them back to sleep.

If you are pumping alongside breastfeeding, you may consider having your NCS give your newborn a bottle for most overnight feedings. This allows you to plan your breastfeeding and pumping schedule to prioritize maximizing your sleep.

While a newborn care specialist is working in your home overnight, their top priority is to care for your baby’s needs and to accomplish baby-related chores. When chores are taken care of and your newborn is sleeping, your NCS may use that time to rest while remaining immediately available to care for your baby’s needs when they arise. There will need to be a designated space in your home for the NCS to rest when possible. This space can be a mattress set up in the nursery, a guest room, or another arrangement you might discuss with your NCS.

If you prefer, you can request that your NCS stay awake through the entirety of their shift. This is referred to as “awake overnight care”. Awake overnight care starts at $40/hour and may have limited availability. Visit the Contact page to connect with Rest Easy Newborn Care about booking awake overnight care.