Kirsty

My Summary

Maternity Nurse & Night Nanny

My Experience

I began my Maternity Nursing career specializing in caring for families of multiples. I am passionate about supporting parents in their feeding journeys, and spend much of my personal time steeped in research around Breastfeeding, Bottle Feeding and Holistic sleep. After working so many years with multiples, I am naturally very passionate about sleep! I do not practice Cry-It-Out techniques, but provide a holistic and gentle approach to infant sleep that simultaneously provides respite for parents while building a developmentally appropriate framework for optimal infant sleep. I do this by creating positive sleep associations, making sure that nutritional needs are being met in an responsive manner, and ironing out factors that could be potentially inhibiting optimal sleep.

When working nights, a typical shift would be 9pm - 6am, although this is flexible. If breastfeeding, I will bring the baby to you in bed to breastfeed (unless you prefer a different location), and after the feed I will take baby back to the nursery to be burped and resettled. If bottle feeding, I take care of all feeds and ensure all feeding equipment is washed, sterilized and organized for the day ahead.

A shift may have a specific end time, or parents may wish to skip the alarm clock and sleep until they wake naturally - this will need to be agreed beforehand.

In addition to my practical experience, much of which has been with families of multiples, I have provided a trouble shooting consultancy service to families experiencing challenges. This ranges from providing breastfeeding and bottle feeding support, creating sleep plans and holistically managing behavioral issues in toddlers.

My book The Case For Cuddles - Gentle Parenting From A Biological, Evolutionary & Neurologically Developmental Standpoint is coming out later this year. My book is about empowering parents to trust in their own instincts, as they are the experts on their babies.

I have supported new parents in a variety of settings. I have experience supporting Parents with babies in NICU, caring for babies in their own homes, and providing care to new families on their first holidays with their newborn. I have provided non medical support for babies in hospital to give exhausted parents respite, and I have supported parents to feel confident on their first trips out with their babies to doctors appointments, mums groups and just to create confidence and memories.

My Qualifications

•Post-natal Maternity Nurse Care Level 4 (non medical qualification) - Babyem
•Breastfeeding skills level 3 - Babyem
•Sleep Training Level 4 - Babyem
•Care of Multiples Level 3 - MNT Training
•Colic, Reflux & Allergies Level 4 - Babyem
•Understanding Tongue-Tie Level 4 - Babyem
•Perinatal Mental Health Level 4 - Babyem
•Breastfeeding for Professionals CPD - with Kathie Kendal IBCLC
•Best Practice Bottle Feeding CPD - with Kathie Kendal IBCLC

My Availability

I am currently available Monday - Thursday from as early as 4pm. Overnight shifts are 8 hrs minimum. As newborns are only newborns for a short period of time, I typically work with any one family for a maximum of 3 months. However, I do take bookings anywhere between 1 day upto 3 months, and work with infants aged 0-6 months.

My Fees

• Babysitting from £25.00 per hour
• Maternity Nursing from £25.00 per hour (gross)

My fees are based on my qualifications and over 10 years hands on experience, most of which has been with families of multiples.