Did you get a nurse for overnights in the beginning?

We are currently expecting and someone just brought this idea up to me and I hadn't considered it....

For moms of multiples, did you have a nurse come in in the beginning and stay overnight so you could sleep? I can't even imagine how hard dealing with 3 is during the day, let alone at night after being utterly exhausted by the day! ha.... How long did you have them stay for?

Any advice?

Re: Did you get a nurse for overnights in the beginning?

I have and did not have a nurse. My two winded up being severely colic with reflux so I had a lot of help from family and friends. During the worst nights my mom would sleep over. Good Luck and Congrats!

Re: Did you get a nurse for overnights in the beginning?

i had twins and i didnt get a nurse but i literally needed one for the first 6 months or so.

for triplets i would ABSOLUTELY get a nurse. please. do yourself a favor! I needed one and didnt get one and ended up severely exhausted. i could not imagine an extra one in there! definitely get some help!!

Re: Did you get a nurse for overnights in the beginning?

We lived with my mother in the house I grew up in with my for a total of 9 months. Honestly, I couldnt have done it w/ o her, she was amazing!! She didnt get up at night but was ALL hands on deck morning and afternoons.

Re: Did you get a nurse for overnights in the beginning?

If your insurance covers it or you have the money to pay somebody go for it...I had DH home for 1 month and my Mom lives with us and I felt no need for a nurse....as long as you get a schedule and routine for everyone to follow things will be fine...Good luck to you.

Re: Did you get a nurse for overnights in the beginning?

I have and we didn't have a nurse. DH and I would just take shifts. We'd feed the boys at 7pm, 10pm, 1am, 4am and 7am (give or take). We'd do the 7pm feeding together, he'd do the 10pm and 1am; I'd do the 4am and 7am. We kept the boys in their bouncy seats in the LR on the 1st floor of our house. Whoever was "on-duty" would sleep on the couch during their shift and get up as needed. OMG, I would blink and DH would be getting me up around 1:30am to swap. My parents stayed w/ us for the first 2-3 weeks and that was super helpful. After they left, the boys would stretch their sleep out to like 4 hours at a time so things got better. I was able to feed both boys at once, but I don't know if I could do that with triplets. Good luck w/ whatever u decide!

Re: Did you get a nurse for overnights in the beginning?

We didn't have a nurse or any help!! Wish I did because my boys did not sleep through the night until 9 months. 1 was colic and they both had severe reflux. If I has triplets I would not even hesitate!! Get the help!

Re: Did you get a nurse for overnights in the beginning?

I didn't get one. The girls are 7 weeks and very easy . . .knock on wood! So far they wake to eat about every 3 hours and at night they are now sleeping 4-5 hour stretches. I'm hoping they sleep through the night in a few more weeks. They are putting on great weight too (doubled their weight since birth) I have been nursing and supplementing.

There are nights where DH and I want to kill ourselves and each other because we just don't want to wake up, but we really have nothing to complain about. It was the exact same as with our older DD. She started sleeping through the night at 11 weeks and then our sanity came back. You can see how the triplets are before making that decision, though in the first 3 months I think it wouldn't hurt, especially if you aren't nursing!

Re: Did you get a nurse for overnights in the beginning?

I didn't get a nurse but we stayed with my parent for the first week the babies were home because we were in the middle of moving! My mom was a HUGE help. Although I was nursing she did everything else for me cooking, laundry, changing babies and even kept me company in the middle of the night. Once we were home we were fine on our own but with triplets I guess if you have the means you probably could use the help

Re: Did you get a nurse for overnights in the beginning?

I didn't have one. I wish I did though!

Re: Did you get a nurse for overnights in the beginning?

my mom slept over 5 nights a week for the first month and took turns waking up with me and my mother in law would come at 6 am to take over the morning "shift" so we could get some sleep for the first few months. my were on a 3 hour schedule morning and night so it was hard to get any sleep at night.
i was very lucky to have my family help and i also had (and still do) a nanny full-time. she slept over 2x/wk after the first month for the first year and i would get 2 full nights of sleep ( ).

ETA: after our twins were born, one of the NICU nurses asked if we needed a night nurse. i never even thought to ask there, but its a good place to look...they charge about $30-35/hour though

Message edited 6/29/2011 9:04:28 PM.

Re: Did you get a nurse for overnights in the beginning?

Re: Did you get a nurse for overnights in the beginning?

My are four weeks old, and we have a baby nurse starting Tuesday. They are still getting up every 3 hours and we are EXHAUSTED! She will stay with us M-F and get up with the girls. I will get up still I'm sure since I'm nursing & pumping.