Overnight Doula FAQ
This service has become increasingly popular and we are thrilled to say it is one of our favorite things we do. Here are some frequently asked questions to help paint you a picture of what this service entails and why you *deserve* to explore it for your postpartum time:
So you come to my house to help take care of the baby at night?
YES. That is a light description of what we do. We arrive at your home at 9pm ready for our 8 hour shift. We settle you into bed for the night and handle as much of the baby needs as planned while you (and any partners) sleep.
I'm planning to breastfeed though, so will this even be helpful?
Absolutely yes. We are passionate about supporting the feeding plan your family is aiming for. For some families that looks like your doula bringing the baby/ies to you when it's time to feed, or we are happy to bottle feed during the night. This is a very individual plan and our expertise in lactation comes in very handy here. We support ALL ways of feeding an infant, be it breast or bottle, supplemented with formula or donor milk... you get to decide and we are here to help you sort it out.
What else?
We are also there to offer support to you and your partner. This looks like so many different things like answering questions about baby care or offering tips on soothing. We can help you navigate breastfeeding and pumping, when to introduce a bottle and even help planning your return to work. Having someone in your home that can answer all of the random questions new parents have is so nice.
Okay so if I'm breastfeeding, I just feed baby and then I go back to sleep?
Yep. In the earlier days when breastfeeding is getting established, we encourage feedings to be at the breast. When things are smooth-sailing, we are happy to help craft a pumping routine during our nights with you that often have the lactating parent waking only once to pump while we do the bottle feeds and keep your baby on the same schedule as your breasts so we don't interfere with your daytime plans.
Then what happens? You chill with the baby? What do you *DO* for the rest of the night?
There is not usually a lot of downtime between the feeding, diapering, burping, soothing, etc. If you are pumping in the night, we will come and get the milk and all pump parts after you are finished expressing. We then store your milk and wash all of the pump parts, replacing them by your bed for the next pumping session. Like a non-creepy milk ninja. Our goal is also to start establishing good sleep habits with your baby so we don't like to have a lot of lights or screens on around the sleeping baby. We often will bring our own tablet, or cross stitching, or a book.
What if I have questions about random baby things?
Just like with our birth clients, we give all of our postpartum clients access to our 24/7 call line. You can use this at any time to text or call with questions related to baby, postpartum recovery, infant feeding, etc. If it seems like the question is out of our scope to answer, we will direct you to the appropriate care provider.
Do you charge extra for twins?
No. It's not your fault you grew two... and our time is our time, no matter what we're doing.
How soon after birth can we start?
Day 1! We can usually have a doula available for you the first night home from the hospital or the day of your delivery. Well... as long as you tell us when you go into labor... or as close to that as possible.
How often do you come?
That is up to you. We will discuss this more in the interview with you but we have families that range from once per week to up to 6 nights per week. This will heavily depend on your needs and your budget. As you start to feel more rested and like you are ready to handle more of the nights, we taper off our time with you in a way that is gentle and paced to the needs of your family.
What if I plan for the worst and somehow get a dream baby who sleeps 4 hours at a time?
Then we roll off your contract sooner! We do not charge cancellation fees. There is a retainer of up to $2k required to book with us and that is non-refundable but if it's been worked off, we can taper off your work sooner than you originally planned.
What happens when your shift is over?
Ideally if we are bottle feeding, we have structured the night so the last bottle happens right before the end of our shift. This allows us to extend your sleeping time as we will tiptoe into your room, pass the baby monitor off to you and let ourselves out. All notes from the night will be sent via text at that time as well. If we are feeding at the breast, we try to have the baby ready to feed at or around the end of our shift, in a fresh diaper and a swaddle so you can hopefully just feed and roll back to sleep!
My baby was already born and I'm really struggling... is it too late to book?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. We always encourage you to ask as we sometimes have cancellations (see above) or we can refer you to another available doula. More often than not, this request is met with "Actually one of us had a cancellation and can come tonight if that works?"
Will you sleep train my baby?
We can discuss the tactics with you and go over the current guidelines and recommendations, but we will not sleep train a baby.
My [random family member] will be coming to stay with us to help out but they are not vaccinated for covid. Will you still work with us?
Nope.
I have an older toddler who might need some care in the middle of the night as well. Will you help with them?
No... we likely will never have met them so that would totally freak them out. Ha!
So you come to my house to help take care of the baby at night?
YES. That is a light description of what we do. We arrive at your home at 9pm ready for our 8 hour shift. We settle you into bed for the night and handle as much of the baby needs as planned while you (and any partners) sleep.
I'm planning to breastfeed though, so will this even be helpful?
Absolutely yes. We are passionate about supporting the feeding plan your family is aiming for. For some families that looks like your doula bringing the baby/ies to you when it's time to feed, or we are happy to bottle feed during the night. This is a very individual plan and our expertise in lactation comes in very handy here. We support ALL ways of feeding an infant, be it breast or bottle, supplemented with formula or donor milk... you get to decide and we are here to help you sort it out.
What else?
We are also there to offer support to you and your partner. This looks like so many different things like answering questions about baby care or offering tips on soothing. We can help you navigate breastfeeding and pumping, when to introduce a bottle and even help planning your return to work. Having someone in your home that can answer all of the random questions new parents have is so nice.
Okay so if I'm breastfeeding, I just feed baby and then I go back to sleep?
Yep. In the earlier days when breastfeeding is getting established, we encourage feedings to be at the breast. When things are smooth-sailing, we are happy to help craft a pumping routine during our nights with you that often have the lactating parent waking only once to pump while we do the bottle feeds and keep your baby on the same schedule as your breasts so we don't interfere with your daytime plans.
Then what happens? You chill with the baby? What do you *DO* for the rest of the night?
There is not usually a lot of downtime between the feeding, diapering, burping, soothing, etc. If you are pumping in the night, we will come and get the milk and all pump parts after you are finished expressing. We then store your milk and wash all of the pump parts, replacing them by your bed for the next pumping session. Like a non-creepy milk ninja. Our goal is also to start establishing good sleep habits with your baby so we don't like to have a lot of lights or screens on around the sleeping baby. We often will bring our own tablet, or cross stitching, or a book.
What if I have questions about random baby things?
Just like with our birth clients, we give all of our postpartum clients access to our 24/7 call line. You can use this at any time to text or call with questions related to baby, postpartum recovery, infant feeding, etc. If it seems like the question is out of our scope to answer, we will direct you to the appropriate care provider.
Do you charge extra for twins?
No. It's not your fault you grew two... and our time is our time, no matter what we're doing.
How soon after birth can we start?
Day 1! We can usually have a doula available for you the first night home from the hospital or the day of your delivery. Well... as long as you tell us when you go into labor... or as close to that as possible.
How often do you come?
That is up to you. We will discuss this more in the interview with you but we have families that range from once per week to up to 6 nights per week. This will heavily depend on your needs and your budget. As you start to feel more rested and like you are ready to handle more of the nights, we taper off our time with you in a way that is gentle and paced to the needs of your family.
What if I plan for the worst and somehow get a dream baby who sleeps 4 hours at a time?
Then we roll off your contract sooner! We do not charge cancellation fees. There is a retainer of up to $2k required to book with us and that is non-refundable but if it's been worked off, we can taper off your work sooner than you originally planned.
What happens when your shift is over?
Ideally if we are bottle feeding, we have structured the night so the last bottle happens right before the end of our shift. This allows us to extend your sleeping time as we will tiptoe into your room, pass the baby monitor off to you and let ourselves out. All notes from the night will be sent via text at that time as well. If we are feeding at the breast, we try to have the baby ready to feed at or around the end of our shift, in a fresh diaper and a swaddle so you can hopefully just feed and roll back to sleep!
My baby was already born and I'm really struggling... is it too late to book?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. We always encourage you to ask as we sometimes have cancellations (see above) or we can refer you to another available doula. More often than not, this request is met with "Actually one of us had a cancellation and can come tonight if that works?"
Will you sleep train my baby?
We can discuss the tactics with you and go over the current guidelines and recommendations, but we will not sleep train a baby.
My [random family member] will be coming to stay with us to help out but they are not vaccinated for covid. Will you still work with us?
Nope.
I have an older toddler who might need some care in the middle of the night as well. Will you help with them?
No... we likely will never have met them so that would totally freak them out. Ha!