You can tell the new parents around town. Often they’re bleary eyed , a little bit dishevelled and standing at the coffee shop with an air of desperation about them.
It’s a right of passage, really. Newborns (and kids in general) mean you’re tired. I try not to be a smug parent but I do have a little giggle when people without kids tell you they’re tired. You don’t know tired until you have children. And from that point on you learn to operate on a lot less sleep than you’re used to.
But lack of sleep can be detrimental. There’s tired, and then there’s exhausted. The kind of feeling where everything piles on top of you. Where you feel like you can’t cope. Where you’re swamped in ‘stuff’ and your brain just doesn’t have the capacity to deal. That’s when you know you’re sleep deprived.
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So what do you do when the sleeplessness gets too much?
Babies by nature wake frequently in the night. It’s what they’re designed to do. Their little tummies can’t hold that much so they get hungry. They need cuddles and reassurance; they’re only new in the world. They need changing. Often. They need help getting back off to sleep and that can really take it’s toll on mum and dad.
But there is help for those who know where to look for it. Night time babysitters.
The greatest gift you can give a new parent is the gift of sleep and that’s exactly what night nannies can do.
You don't know 'tired' until you have children. Image: istock
These guys are sleep angels. They come to your house around 10pm and send you off to bed with the promise that if you're needed, they will wake you. While you doze, they feed, change, settle, wind and comfort your child. All of your baby's needs are met so you can recharge those very low batteries.
With a lot of parents starting their new lives as mum and dad without the external family support which might have been present in years gone by, the demand for services like night nannies is on the rise.
It can be daunting leaving your most precious asset in the care of someone else but night nannies come well equipped with the tools they need to put your mind at ease. Pretty much every baby related situation you can think of, they can handle.
Most of them have childcare experience, first aid qualifications, background checks and a professional and understanding approach. Obviously you'll confirm these aspects based on the individual but most of them have glowing references, all you have to do is ask.
Plus, at the end of the day (geddit!?) you're right in the next room if anything happens so you can rest easy.
Have you ever used a night time nanny?
Top Comments
This sounds like a wonderful service to help support new mothers. It is a shame that some commenters below first reaction is to tell mothers to harden up and don't dare complain or to to feel offended by this.
I've worked insane 70plus hour weeks (with all-nighters and stress induced insomnia) prior to being a parent, and feel no shame in saying that parenting a newborn after giving birth and breastfeeding is by far the hardest, but also the most wonderful thing I've ever done. Of course I agree that there are people with medical conditions who completely deserve our support and empathy- or people that found their babies were easy and only woke a couple times in the night - but that doesn't take away from the fact that being a new mum is really hard for many women.
To any new mums feeling bad or inadequate, I just wanna say you ladies totally rock and don't feel ashamed if you need to use these sorts of services!
As a childless person I can assure you I get tired. And I'm sick of the fact it's only parents who are allowed to be tired. I might not be tired because my own cherubs wake me up, and I am in relatively good physical health. So I'm not allowed to be tired in every bone in my body? Well thanks. I guess I'll just power through being so tired I want to cry or throw up. Because you know, no children so I'm not actually tired.