Charleston Night Nanny

A V A I L A B I L I T Y U P D A T E

Hello! I took a little break from this space (and work) to get my own baby sleeping through the night, but now I’m back and have availability in my schedule. If you’d like to inquire about a future date, please reach out. I’m also available for one-off nights as needed.

Joy

Providing night care for twins is one of my specialties. I have fostered 5 sets of twins (two from birth to nine months) and am intimately acquainted with the special brand of exhaustion brought on by multiples. My top priority during the night is setting you up for success when I leave. I’m familiar with the most common approaches to sleep training and also gentle parenting and am excited to support you in the approach that serves your family philosophy.

One of the reasons I love this job is because I get to be flexible to meet the needs of each family. All of my families have slightly different reasons for needing me and it brings me joy to find ways to accommodate each need – from starting coffee in the mornings before I leave to laying out clothes for the next day to arriving early so parents can squeeze in a date night.

Yes! I usually only work with one family at a time, so there is occasionally time in my schedule to do one-off nights for other families. I also fill in for past families who need night, day, or weekend care as needed since I’ve already developed a relationship with their kiddos.

I am always willing to be flexible to your needs, so let’s talk about what works best for your family.

My hours vary depending on:

- How the baby is fed (breast or bottle)

- Your sleep preferences

- Your morning needs (I can stay later if you need to run other kids to school or morning activities and leave the baby at home)

I generally request an 8 hour minimum, but have sometimes adjusted that to 6 hours depending on the family’s needs. I can work as often as every other night or as infrequently as twice per week.

Hi! I’m Joy, mom of 3, foster parent to over 40, and a cradle care provider to over 20 medically fragile newborns. With over 20 years of nanny experience, I currently offer night care for newborns in the Charleston area. I stumbled upon night care after helping several friends and discovering I love providing relief to new parents – not to mention the honor of coming into a family that has recently welcomed a tiny new life and providing a sense of peace, stability, and reprieve.

I’m very familiar with the various methods of sleep training as well as gentle parenting and love finding ways to combine these approaches in ways that support the parents as well as the baby’s developing brain and body. I bring awareness of neurobiology, attachment theory, and child development and love to help families create new rhythms where needed, while also supporting what you already have in place that is working well.

Many of my families have become dear friends and I love when I get called to babysit or provide overnight/weekend care to the little ones I spent hours with in their first weeks and months of life.

If you’re exhausted…or just planning to be exhausted, please reach out for a free consultation. I’d love to hear your needs and see if I’d be a good fit for your family.

Did you know that our sleep rhythms are dramatically influenced by our first dose of morning light? The first morning sunshine to hit your eyes triggers an internal clock that governs your first release of cortisol and a release of melatonin later that night. If you have a newborn and are dealing with interrupted sleep, one of the best things you can do is get morning and evening sunshine. 10-15 minutes on a sunny day is all you need…and of course never look right at the sun. Just a short walk or time spent in the rocking chair is all you need.

FREE SNOO!

I own a SNOO and offer it free to any family that books my services at least twice a week for a month. That means that on the nights I'm not with you, you have a SNOO to use and add some ease to your nights.

The SNOO only moves when your baby needs to be calmed, so it doesn't cause dependence like other constant motion bassinets.

It comes with a safe swaddle that clicks into the bed, ensuring that the baby remains safely on their back all night.

I have been a foster parent to babies experiencing withdrawal and bought the SNOO to help soothe them. Now I wonder how I lived without it!

What does it look like to have a night nanny?

I cared for Babies A and S last year while their family was getting used to the new rhythm of having twins. Starting the day after their birth, I arrived at 8 or 9pm depending on their schedule and left around 5am - usually every other night. Mom wanted them on the same schedule, but was having trouble keeping up with that during the day, so my focus was to get them back on a consistent schedule overnight, putting them in fresh clothes, and cleaning/prepping all bottles for the next day. I also occasionally entertained their older brother in the evenings while mom and dad caught their breath and got ready for the next day.

They're now a year old and I just got pictures from their first birthday party! It makes my day when my families send updates.

Joy