A Newborn Care Specialist is an individual trained and skilled in newborn care. She provides unique expertise in all aspects of newborn care, parental education and support. Her job is to help nurture and care for newborns while providing guidance and education for the parents.

The primary role of a Newborn Care Specialist is to provide assistance and education after the parents bring the baby home from the hospital. Many times, this help will include scheduling, feeding, sleep training, help with breast feeding and more.

Newborn Care Specialists will generally work night shifts managing the baby’s care while the parents sleep restfully. When the baby wakes up, the Newborn Care Specialist feeds by bottle or brings the baby to the mom for nursing. After feeding, the baby is burped and changed and put back to bed.

During the daytime a Newborn Care Specialist will provide similar care and also strive to create a nurturing and stimulating environment for the baby during waking hours. Both day and night Newborn Care Specialists document the baby’s patterns and keep a log of sleeping, feeding and changing times to assist in transitioning the baby to a regular schedule. Newborn Care Specialists are generally not responsible for household duties unrelated to the new baby or for the care of other children in the household.

A Newborn Care Specialist will typically perform the following duties:

• Educate and support parents.

• Create a smooth transition for family during the newborn stage.

• Troubleshoot potential issues of concern with the newborn and offer professional options to resolve them.

• Maintain a thorough log of infant feeding and sleep patterns.

• Assist mother with any feeding issues she may have, including the facilitation of breastfeeding and be knowledgeable in answering breastfeeding related questions.

• Soothes babies using skilled and proven techniques that help calm newborns.

To provide care for the newborn and perform some or all of the following tasks:

• Diapering

• Changing

• Bathing

• Circumcision Care

• Bottle Preparation (Breastmilk & Formula)

• Bottle Cleaning

• Organization & Maintenance of Nursery

• Create a regular feeding schedule

• Assist in establishing healthy sleep habits

• Maintain a thorough log of eating, sleeping and behavioral patterns

• Take over complete care of newborn at night to provide parents time to sleep

• To provide assistance with Sleep Training beyond 3 months and assist parents with helping infants and toddlers sleep through the night.

• Knowledgeable in Reflux/Colic and available to provide helpful solutions caring for babies with GER/GERD.

• Experienced in working with multiples and effectively teaching parents how to care for more than one baby at a time. Their knowledge includes how to effectively set up the nursery and a routine to accommodate twins, triplets and quadruplets.

• Doing consultations regarding any newborn issues that may arise.

• Knowledgeable in working with premature babies and understanding how to care and address their special and unique needs.

As a full-time Newborn Care Specialist, the schedule is usually in 8-hour shifts, day or night, or 24-hour shifts, either 5 or 7 days a week. There are also some families that require assistance on a part-time basis and that can include 5 days a week for a minimum of 8 hours or more, or a full 8-hour day or night shift for 2, 3 or 4 days a week. Newborn Care Specialists usually work a minimum of 2 weeks and have been known to stay on positions for as long as 4 months. You will be able to pick the schedule you would like to work.

To become a Newborn Care Specialist you basically need to possess an unconditional love for babies. Allison has chased her love in childcare ranging from being a grade level substitute teacher, nanny, home aid, preschool teacher, postpartum doula with profusion knowledge in child development.

In order to provide exemplary care to families during the postpartum phase, it is essential that you seek comprehensive training. You must be knowledgeable in all areas of basic newborn care and understand the importance of feeding, sleeping, caring and supporting families during this time. Those without training and proper skills can risk conditioning babies to establish poor eating and sleeping patterns and increase the probability of developing hard to break habits. More importantly, basic requirements such as feeding or basic care can put babies health at risk if individuals are not properly trained in how to appropriately handle these tasks.

Allison has taken the follow trainings:

-CPR and First Aid

-The Newborn Care Training academy

-CAPPA Postpartum Training

A Baby Nurse by today’s standards is a Registered Nurse (RN), Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). Individuals with this type of background are available to work with families who have babies dealing with medical challenges including prematurity, genetic disorders or other medical conditions that present life-threatening risks to the infant. Many of these newborns require close monitoring and care by a knowledgeable, trained and experienced Baby Nurse when discharged home from the hospital.

*Please be aware that based on certain law requirements set in each state – the term “Baby Nurse” can only apply to those carrying a valid nursing license.

A postpartum doula’s role is to “mother the mother”. A trained postpartum doula is also an educator but primarily focuses on the needs of the mother. She is available to provide care during the postpartum period and will assist with duties such as laundry, cooking, running errands and nurturing the family in whatever their needs dictate. She offers support with both parents, siblings and family members and is well rounded in her knowledge of baby care. There are several Newborn Care Specialists who are trained in both aspects and it is a perfect complement to the profession.

Postpartum doulas are skilled and knowledgeable about the care and development of infants as well as maternal recovery. I provide non-judgemental guidance on newborn care and feeding, assisting the mother with physical and emotional recovery, care for baby so mother can care for herself, and provide household assistance.

CM&F

Yes, I am vaccinated. My goal is for babies to be as healthy as possible, and keep up with vaccinations to insure! All vaccinations are updated as seen fit as soon as possible.