The Role of Your Newborn Specialist During an Overnight Visit :

Most importantly, your professional newborn specialist will provide you and your newborn with exceptional care. 

She will offer hands on guidance and instruction in newborn care:

• She will assist you in the feeding of your newborn either by breast, bottle or both.  We will discuss the sanitary process of handling, expressing and storing of breastmilk.  
• Demonstrate infant care techniques such as bottle feeding, burping, diapering, umbilical care, circumcision care, bathing, swaddling and safe sleeping.
• Support you while you develop your own style of nurturing and bonding with the baby.
• Assist you with developing healthy structured sleep habits for your newborn.
• Discuss the healthy norms of newborns and their patterns of growth and development.
• Instruction in the Dr. Karp’s Happiest Baby theories and a complimentary waffle weave  swaddle blanket.
• She will keep a record of the newborn’s intake, output, and sleep habits.

She will assist with the physical comfort of the new mother:

• She will work with you to develop a feeding and care plan that allows the mother to take time to rest for proper physical and emotional health.
• Assure that the new mother has an adequate amount of nutrition and hydration.
• Support and offer the new mother information on the healthy care of her postpartum body. Discuss the norms of healthy breasts during the process of lactation.
• Supply you with referral information for resources such as mom support groups, lactation care, postpartum adjustment and pediatric care.

Offer support for emotional changes of the family in transition:

• Support and validate the normal adjustment period for new parents and other siblings.
• Support new mother with the possible return to work.
• Support the parents through the transition to their new role and the additional new responsibilities.
• Help the new family to understand the normal adjustment period for older siblings when a newborn arrives.

The newborn is always the primary concern but the postpartum assistant will also:

• Wash and sanitize all bottles, nipples, etc. and pacifiers. 
• Prepare formula and fill bottles needed for the following day.
• Wash, sanitize all breastpump equipment and prepare/store for the next use.
• Proper handling, storing and preparing of bottles of expressed breast milk.
• Light kitchen care including the loading/unloading of dishwasher and counter clean up.
• The wash and fold baby laundry.
• Restock changing table with available supplies such as diapers and wipes.
• Empty full diaper disposal system