This post has been sponsored to bring you helpful information on overnight newborn care.
Your bundle of joy is coming soon! You heard a friend mention how great it was having an overnight nanny. An overnight nanny? What do they do? Do I need an overnight nanny? You start thinking more about the benefits of having someone come and do some research.
During your research, you might repeatedly see two different terms: overnight care and sleep training. What is the difference between the two? Is one better than the other?
Overnight care is when someone comes to your home and cares for your child as you would. They feed on demand (when the baby wants to eat), change diapers, soothe and rock your baby and whatever else your baby may need throughout the night. The parents enjoy a restful night’s sleep knowing that their child is being cared for by a professional.
Sleep training is entirely different. The purpose of sleep training is to get your child to sleep through the night and not rely on a bottle. Self soothing to return to sleep is crucial for successful sleep training. Sleep training involves various proven techniques.
You may be wondering if all sleep training uses is the cry it out method. The answer to that is, No. While cry it out is effective, not all parents want to put their baby through that. There are other techniques that can be used. Sleep training is suitable for infants who are more than ten pounds.
Still not sure which one is right for your family? With sleep training, the baby’s daytime schedule is more important and needs to be consistent. Naps will need to be done in the crib so that the baby associates the crib with sleep. A nighttime routine needs to be one that you will be able to keep up with. Babies love routine and their routine needs to be the same every day. A popular night time routine includes giving baby a bath, doing the last bottle for the night and then reading a classical book. Some babies respond very well to a sound machine with a white noise setting or music set on low. These sleep aides will assist the baby in falling to sleep and falling back asleep during the night.
For those who do not want to be so regimental with a schedule, then overnight care would be best. There is more freedom to your day when you aren’t having to plan your errands and play dates around nap schedules. Due to being more of an active participant in your child’s night time routine, sleep training costs more than overnight care. Agencies typically do not charge less for overnight care, even though less work is being done by the caregiver. There is no right or wrong answer. The real question is, what do you want to accomplish during the time you have an overnight nanny? Your answer to this question will be the answer to your ultimate question; “Do I want an overnight care professional or do I want an infant sleep training professional?”
Carla Harvey has been involved with childcare since 2007. She has been a nanny for various families, worked with local nanny agencies to provide babysitting as well as overnight sleep training for newborns. She has worked with singles and multiples, preemies and children with various health issues and medication needs. Due to this vast experience, she is extremely knowledgeable in caring for newborns through school aged children. She also has medical training and is a Medical Assistant from Dallas’ Sanford Brown Medical Assistant program and a Certified Nurse Assistant from OSU-OKC’s CNA program. Due to her medical training and related experience, you can feel safe in knowing that your child is in the best care possible. Carla graduated with a Bachelors of Social Work from Brescia University in December 2014. She is currently attending the University of Texas at Arlington’s Masters of Social Work program.
If you’re interested in learning more about overnight care or sleep training, visit CarlaHarvey.net or Safe and Sound Sleep Training with Carla Harvey on Facebook.
Disclosure: The post has been sponsored by CarlaHarvey.net. All opinions are 100% our own!
