How a Night Nanny Can Help You Recover Faster Postpartum

The aftermath of bringing a baby into the world involves much more than figuring out your new family routine. You might also run into some roadblocks like sleep deprivation (because let’s face it, the word ‘sleep’ isn’t in a baby’s vocabulary), physical healing, and emotional adjustment. The thing is, all of this can be overwhelming to add to the already demanding job of caring for your new baby.

That’s where a night nanny can come in handy. These helpful baby experts give a world of support to newborn parents. Not only do they help take some of the stress off your shoulders during the wee hours of the night, but they also tailor baby support to your preferences, which means you have more control over their services.

“We get so focused on how our babies are sleeping that we forget about our own sleep needs,” says Kristin Revere, certified postpartum doula, author, and owner of Gold Coast Doulas in West Michigan. “Your sleep is important too. Make it a priority.”

In this article, we’re discussing why night nannies for newborns can be the solution you need to care for your family and recover better than expected. Because that’s the goal, isn’t it?

What Is a Night Nanny?

A night nanny is a professional caregiver who works overnight to provide families with newborn care. Most of their tasks include feeding your baby (or bringing them to you to feed if you choose!), changing their diaper, washing bottles, and soothing your little one when they get fussy—all throughout the night.

However, you should know that the term “night nanny” is often interchanged with another profession, overnight postpartum doula—someone who takes support to the next level by helping with breastfeeding education, setting up systems, and helping mom with postpartum healing on top of caring for baby at night—but in this case, we’re referring to night nannies.

Overall, night nannies don’t provide the emotional support that a postpartum doula does, but having a night nanny at home while you rest is still a great tool to use to ensure you’re well taken care of mentally and emotionally.

Ways Night Nannies Help You Recover Faster Postpartum

Birth requires tons from your body, both physically and mentally. And it takes a while to recover in the months post-birth. Simply put, night nannies for newborns help you fuel up faster by letting you rest and sleep, so you’re supported mentally, emotionally, and physically—here’s how.

1. They handle wake-ups, so you don’t have to

One of the biggest struggles almost every newborn parent faces is waking up frequently throughout the night to feed their baby, especially in those first few weeks. When your baby is fresh out of the womb, they typically average feedings every two to three hours, sometimes even more if they’re cluster feeding. “That means you’re only getting sleep in small intervals,” adds Kristin.

To be honest, waking up this often throughout the night can be taxing, and you’ll definitely start to feel it after several nights in a row. Sleep is your friend during this vulnerable time. In fact, the American Pregnancy Association says that sleep is essential for postpartum recovery. And if you hire a night nanny? Then you won’t have to worry about waking up as frequently throughout the night.

2. They tackle all nighttime diaper changes

Frequent feedings aren’t the only thing that happens throughout the night with a newborn—all that liquid needs to go somewhere! Those first few weeks of newborn nights typically consist of multiple diaper changes. That means getting up and down out of bed, walking to the changing table, and maneuvering around to throw the soiled diaper in the trash can. Likely, all while holding your baby.

All this movement can be tough when you’re healing, especially if you’ve already been up all day. On top of that, if you had a bad tear in labor or are healing from a C-section, this extra movement can inhibit healing. Thankfully, nighttime diaper changes are another task night nannies take care of, so you can recover more efficiently.

3. They take care of feedings

Like we mentioned earlier, newborns are frequent eaters in their beginning stages. Sometimes they eat every two hours… all day. This can be very, very draining on your mental health, especially when you’re in (what seems like) an endless cycle of feedings both day and night. Sometimes it’s helpful to let someone else—aka night nannies—handle your baby’s feedings overnight to give yourself a break. That way? You get to sleep in and wake up feeling refreshed the next day.

4. They give you back hours of sleep

One parenting survey done in 2022 showed that parents lose about 133 nights of sleep in the first year of their baby’s life—whoa! No wonder parents are tired. With night nannies, you can hand over these nighttime feedings and diaper changes, so you can get more sleep and recover faster. Not only physically, but mentally. Because the reality is, nights without uninterrupted sleep while you’re in the postpartum phase can help lower the risk of postpartum depression.

Many parents hesitate to take advantage of night nannies and overnight postpartum doulas because they fear it’ll take away their bond with the baby. But that’s definitely not the case. Your night nanny works for you, meaning you get to tell them how little or how much you want them to be involved with caring for your little one while you get some much-needed rest.

During this postpartum period, Kristin suggests slowing down. “Listen to your body and only do what you can and what is necessary. Leave the piles of laundry—take it easy. Let your body heal and spend time resting and bonding with your baby.”

Kristin Revere, MM, CED, NCS, is a certified birth and postpartum doula and the founder of Gold Coast Doulas in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She is also the co-host of Ask the Doulas Podcast and co-author of Supported: Your Guide to Birth and Baby.