Lack of sleep is one of the main difficulties for young parents. To relax for a night, some of them call on specialized childcare. But how much does it cost exactly?
The first weeks after giving birth often feel like a nighttime marathon. The awakenings come one after the other, the nights become fragmented, and recovery becomes rare. Many parents move forward on autopilot, with fatigue that accumulates day after day. This lack of sleep is not anecdotal: it weighs on the mood, concentration and balance of the couple, at a time when everything is already upset.
And if you ask any parent what they would dream of after the birth of their baby, they would definitely answer: a few hours of sleep. Precisely, the night nanny will allow them to breathe from time to time. Its role is simple: take care of the baby while the parents sleep. She will therefore put him to bed, feed him, change his diaper (and possibly also his clothes in case of excess), help him go back to sleep, give him his pacifier if he loses it, manage the start of the morning, etc. All the tasks that parents do at night in short.
Except that there, during his presence, they will be able to sleep peacefully and not worry, knowing that there is a specialist to take care of him. The latter will also be able to give them advice on how to manage the nights. Nathalia Manceaux, postpartum support worker who set up a night support service, aka @newborncareinparis on Instagram, explains to us that many of her clients say the same thing after a good night’s sleep: “Ah, that feels good!”.
Nathalia Manceaux tells us that some parents only use her services occasionally, while others call her regularly. “It’s a night where they have peace of mind, they know that someone they can trust will come and take good care of their baby.”she declares. Obviously, such a service comes at a price. While this varies depending on demand and regions, the rates for night nurses displayed on the Internet are around 200-220 euros for twelve hours of presence.
It’s a budget, that’s for sure, but the postpartum support person says, “it’s worth itbecause it’s a real subject, lack of sleep, it’s hard”. Some parents therefore do not hesitate to call on someone for a night occasionally or regularly. Sometimes, it is also loved ones who offer night care as a birth gift, because what better gift than a little rest?
