Overnight Postpartum Care: The Fairy Godmother of the Night!

Sherri Morris

Birth and Postpartum Doula, Infant Sleep Educator

As a new parent, sleep deprivation can hit you like a ton of bricks.  Parents spend countless days up late at night, up early in the morning, and for many, up for hours with a baby who thinks the middle of the night is a great time to be awake!  What’s a sleep deprived parent to do?  Enter the overnight postpartum doula!

What is an Overnight Postpartum Doula?

An overnight postpartum doula truly is the Fairy Godmother of the Night.  She will take you from being overwhelmed, exhausted and stressed to being relaxed, well rested and ready to face the day.  An overnight doula is an expert in caring for your baby overnight while you have a peaceful night’s sleep. Your doula will answer your questions and offer nonjudgmental advice to help you become more confident as a parent. She will take your disheveled kitchen and transform it, so you wake to a calm, peaceful place to drink your morning coffee. Your doula will help you catch up on the ever-growing pile of baby laundry. Sounds like a dream, right?

What does a typical overnight look like?

Every night looks a little different, depending on the needs of the family and baby, but an overnight doula’s schedule might look something like this:

9pm Your doula arrives, and she will spend some time discussing with you your day and answering questions you may have.
9:30pm You and your partner head to bed and your doula takes over care of your baby.  At this point the doula may put your baby to sleep.
10-11pm This time is set aside for catching up on household tasks to assist you.  Washing dishes or emptying the dishwasher, throwing in a load of baby laundry, picking up around the kitchen and living room, washing bottles and pump parts are typical tasks done.
11pm Now is quiet time for the whole house, including the doula who might try and rest during this time.
2am and 5am Baby wakes and doula will change the baby and bring the parent to nurse or she will bottle feed the baby. After the baby is done feeding, she will burp and put the baby back to sleep.  If the baby is fussy during the night or awake, she will care for him so you can sleep.
5:30am Doula will finish up tasks for the night: washing any bottles used during the night, folding laundry that was washed, and when the parent wakes for the day a detailed schedule of the night’s events will be reported.  

How parent’s feel after hiring a postpartum doula

”We couldn’t have done it without the help of our doula. I was struggling with postpartum anxiety and depression and the lack of sleep was making things exponentially worse. I needed to get some sleep. Our doula came to our house three nights a week and when I woke in the morning I felt like Superwoman. She was so good to talk to. I was a first-time mom and felt so lost, I had so many questions and struggled with breastfeeding. She assured me that I was a great mom. She was so patient and answered all my questions. I’m so grateful for her support.”  First time mom, Camillus

“We loved our doula team! We had support five nights a week for the first three months after we had our second child. I knew as soon as I was pregnant that I wanted the extra support this time around because after we had our first child I was totally in over my head. We planned ahead to hire a doula and we were so lucky to have two experienced doulas to support our family. The thing I loved most about our doula team was that after my child’s birth I had some major complications with my recovery and our doulas cared for our baby like she was one of their own so I could get the rest I needed to recover. I tell all my friends about the amazing support I received from my doula team and recommend them to everyone.”  Second time mom, Fayetteville

Who are CNY Doula Connection’s overnight postpartum doulas?

Currently the Doula Connection has four overnight postpartum doulas.  Chris Herrera has been a postpartum doula for over a decade and is a mother to three children herself.  She has specialized training in breastfeeding, belly binding and placenta encapsulation which are all beneficial in the postpartum period.

Sherri Morris is a mother of 4 and has been a postpartum doula for 4 years.  She is a certified infant sleep educator, has additional training in breastfeeding and is currently working on her Newborn Care Specialist certification.  

Roz Squitieri has been a postpartum doula for 14 years and a mother for 15 years.
 
Sarah Kelchner just recently became certified as a postpartum doula is the proud mother of two young children.
​ 
We would love to hear from you on how we can best support your family with your overnight sleep needs!

Ready for a good night's sleep?