We’ve recently launched our new Night Nanny service on Bubble, which connects parents with nannies who can help care for their children through the night. As sitters, we want to tell you more about what the job entails so that you can decide whether or not it is for you.
What is a Night Nanny?
Night Nannies are not just regular nannies (but in the night!) – they are experienced nannies, often with newborn and sleep support certifications, who go to a parent’s house for 8-12 hours overnight to help care for their baby.
They are expected to have extensive experience caring for babies, particularly within the 0-3 month age range, and need to be knowledgeable about infant feeding, sleeping and common newborn issues such as reflux and colic.
Who can be a Night Nanny?
It’s really important to stress that unless you have specific Night Nanny/Maternity Nurse or Doula experience or training, we do not encourage you to opt into the service.
Although there are no formal qualifications required to be a Night Nanny, parents will need to see that you have the experience and knowledge required to look after their child at such a critical time in their lives. As well as supporting the baby through the night, you will also be expected to provide parents with advice on common newborn issues. All Night Nannies need to be familiar with the different infant feeding options and the UK guidelines for safer sleep.
As the role requires specialised knowledge, many Night Nannies will be certified as maternity nurses, early years specialists or sleep coaches and will have several years experience caring for newborns. If you do sign up as a Night Nanny, your certificates and experience will be visible on your Bubble profile when parents post a nighttime job.
Working with newborn professionals
Given that parents expect Night Nannies to be experienced and qualified for the role, we’ve been working with Caroline, a newborn and parenting specialist, to launch our new Night Nanny feature. She is a highly trained Doula and Maternity Nurse, who provides antenatal education, birth doula support, infant feeding support and postnatal maternity nurse/doula services. You can find out more about her here.
She has consulted with us throughout our product development and launch, and has helped us to create a useful guide for sitters who are interested in signing up as a Night Nanny. You can watch this below:
How does it work?
As with our daytime services, parents can book, contact and pay Night Nannies through the Bubble app. If you are willing and prepared to take on the role of a Night Nanny, you can mark yourself as one by going to the ‘Edit Profile’ section of the app, clicking ‘About Me’ and then ticking ‘Yes’ to the ‘Night Nanny / Maternity Nurse’ option. You will be required to fill in your experience and certifications, and you can set your hourly Night Nanny rate as well as telling parents a bit more about what you can help them with.
Given how important and sensitive this job is, many parents find that a Night Nanny’s experience and particular fit for them is what is most vital. They can read reviews and use the in-app interview function to arrange a meeting with you, so that you’re both comfortable with the arrangement before going ahead with a booking. Parents may use these meetings to personally check any other documentation or certifications that a Night Nanny has listed on their profile.
Find out more
To learn more about Night Nannies, you can also check out our Night Nannies FAQ page.
If you would like to sign up as a Night Nanny, download the Bubble Sitter app for iOS or Android.
