Bringing home a baby is a joyous event. All-new adventures, responsibilities, and routines. But those first few days and months with a newborn can also be confusing and frustrating. Babies don’t come with instructions, so you want someone who can answer your questions and offer sound advice while lending a helping hand with the little one.
In the comfort and convenience of your own home, I can help you make a smooth transition into parenthood. Whether your baby is four days, four weeks or four months old, my role as a Newborn Care Specialist is to combine my intuition and experience to gently guide you in establishing the right routines for both you and your baby.
You should view me as an extra pair of loving hands. I will help you care for your baby, and I will offer guidance as you and your baby learn how to eat, sleep and interact together on a schedule that suits your lifestyle as well as your baby’s needs.
When mommy and baby are happy, then everyone is happy.
“When Devon was 2 weeks old, he began crying.then screaming. Almost any time he was not nursing (and even sometimes then), he was screaming. Dianna took Devon in her arms and he responded to her instantly with quiet attention- no crying.Devon began sleeping that day, and has been taking naps every day since then. A few days after Dianna’s visit, he began smiling, since he was getting caught up on his sleep and was significantly less cranky. And I began to enjoy my son for the first time.”
Communicating
Newborn communication can be subtle. It can be a slight movement in body position, a turn of the head, a glance in a certain direction, opening or closing of eyes or even a guttural wail.
One of the most confusing tasks of a new parent is to decide how to read all of these signs and to effectively communicate with your infant. The hardest task to master is when to respond to a baby’s cries and when to let them soothe themselves. I can help you discern between your baby’s different cries so that you know when your baby is lonely, hungry, hurting or, most importantly, tired. With the knowledge of which cry your baby is making, you can choose how best to respond, even if that means doing nothing at all.
Sleeping
As you learn how your baby shows you that he or she is tired, I will patiently help you get your baby on a sleeping schedule so that your baby’s daytime and nighttime are the same as yours. I’ll give you hands-on help in seeing when it is appropriate to use sleep aids like white noise or pacifiers and in getting your baby to fall asleep and stay asleep on his or her own.
By 12 weeks, I will guarantee to have your baby sleeping through the night. I will take the night shift 5 nights a week (Sunday-Thursday) for 10-12 weeks. During my shift, you get a full night’s sleep so that you can guide your infant through the daytime portion of our schedule. Working together, your infant will stay asleep all night by the 12th week.
Feeding
The right balance of awake and asleep time is also related to your baby’s feeding routine. I can help you determine the best feeding schedule and methods for your baby so that you can minimize symptoms of colic, ensure your baby is eating enough and enable your baby to sleep for the length of time he or she requires.
I am skilled in both breast and bottle feeding techniques, and I have the experience to recommend when and how to use either or both methods.
Caring
I will also be a useful resource for you in learning how to care for your baby as they grow and change. I can help you make sense of conflicting advice you receive from baby guidebooks and well-intentioned family members. For example, swaddling is an effective technique for baby sleep training that I can teach you. I will also show you how to safely bathe your baby and care for your baby’s skin and hair, including managing cradle cap and diaper rash.
Your baby will be a toddler before you know it, and I will offer you guidance for how to assist your baby’s growth and development using toys and interaction methods that support their changing needs and interests.