Got A Newborn And Some Cash To Burn? Hire A Baby Nurse!
Yes, yes, we know: having a baby is a wonderful, magical thing! Becoming a mom (when you want to be one) is life-changing in all the ways. And … a lot of not great ways. Being pregnant isn’t easy, but once the baby comes, it’s so great! SO GREAT. Sleepless nights, sore everything, stress, hormones – just so, so great. While we wouldn’t trade those first days and weeks with our babies for anything, it would have been aces to have some help. Not supportive partner help, but ACTUAL help. Like, in the form of a professional baby person whose sole purpose is to care for you and the baby. Does such an angel exist? Why yes, yes they do. Baby nurses are like the Rolls Royces of nannies. But that kind of quality comes with a big price tag.
In this week’s episode of “Lifestyles of the Rich and Postpartum”, people with some cash to burn are hiring baby nurses to help care for their newborns. We have to admit, a baby nurse is probably an absolute necessity for working parents. But these specialized baby nurses are not cheap, in any sense of the word. They work incredibly long shifts, often without a day off, for weeks on end. It’s not child care the vast majority of us can afford, but it’s certainly something so many of us could have used.
Baby nurses aren’t your typical form of child care. Some are nannies, yes. But many are registered nurses or licensed practical nurses.
They work in shifts of up to 22 hours at a time. And they do it all. Baby nurses are the ultimate postpartum support system. Their duties are typically dependent on what the family needs. Some baby nurses are hired to provide support and newborn education to parents. Others handle nighttime duty, including feeding, putting the baby to bed, and waking up throughout the night while the parents get some much-needed rest. The goal of a baby nurse is to help create a workable routine and hand care over to the parents once their time with the family comes to an end.
Just reading that sounds expensive, and lordy is it ever. But no nightly wake-ups?
Most baby nurses work straight through for 3-4 weeks, and then transition to a more flexible (LOL) schedule, taking a day off every two weeks. Traditionally, a baby nurse would stay with a family for 1-3 months after the birth of a child. But times, they are a-changin’. Seth Norman Greenberg is the vice president of a domestic staffing company called Pavillion Agency. According to Greenberg, whose company routinely places baby nurses with families, some families are keeping their domestic help on for much longer, sometimes up to nine months.
So what’s it going to cost you to have a baby nurse? The average pay for a position of this kind is $600-800 A DAY. Yes, you read that right. EIGHT HUNDRED DOLLARS A DAY. Let’s see, add these, carry the one, cry … you’re looking at $5600 for one week of baby nursing. So the average American family definitely isn’t going to be hiring one.
Baby nurses are the gold standard, and as such, they’re out of reach for most of us. But we can totally see a working family, who’s able to afford this type of care, benefiting hugely from having one. And yes, we are 100% jealous.
