Night Nanny

“We feel incredibly fortunate to have had Nanny Rae with us for the first four months of our son's life. As first-time parents, we were filled with questions and uncertainty, but Nanny Rae quickly became a calm and reassuring presence. She taught us so much, not just about newborn care, but about how to feel confident and enjoy these early days of parenthood. From the very beginning, Nanny Rae felt like a member of our family. Her kindness, especially toward our son, was evident in everything she did. She cared for him with such genuine warmth and attentiveness that we always felt at ease knowing he was in her hands. We genuinely looked forward to the nights Nanny Rae was with us. Her presence brought us peace of mind and allowed us to get much-needed rest, knowing our son was being lovingly cared for. Thanks to her, those early, often overwhelming months were filled with more joy, laughter, and calm than we ever expected. We can’t recommend Nanny Rae highly enough. She’s an extraordinary caregiver and an even more extraordinary person”.

Georgina B. Streatham

"When we first met Nanny Rae she told us that dependent on how much our baby weighed and whether he had colic or reflux, she would be able to help him sleep through the night by seven weeks old. We thought this sounded too good to be true, especially when he was our second baby so we knew what to expect. When we met her and she discussed her method it was very much in line with how we looked after our first child so we decided to roll with it.

We’re so glad we did! When our boy turned seven weeks old he started to sleep from 6-7 hours a night straight.

Nanny Rae is incredibly experienced and knows babies very well. She has so much knowledge to share and we learned a lot, despite thinking we already knew a lot from our first child. She was very gentle, caring and attentive with me too, as I had a caesarian and it took some time for me to recover.

The idea of following a method and routine can seem daunting at first, especially when you are exhausted. However, Nanny Rae works within a framework that is very flexible to your needs and those of your baby. We found it easy to fall into the routine and it saved us a lot of frustration and tiredness that we remembered from having our first child.

It is very helpful to have a night nanny to ensure rest and a speedy recovery. But it is also very important to know that your tiny baby is in safe hands. Working with Nanny Rae meant that our newborn experience was genuinely relaxing and we could enjoy and appreciate those special first weeks".

Roisin C. Wanstead

“Nanny Rae has been with us for 9 weeks (3 weeks as a maternity nurse and the rest as a night nanny). She has looked after Cressie so incredibly well and very caring towards get as if it was her own baby.

The wealth of knowledge and experience Nanny Rae has accumulated over the years is shown in her teaching and in establishing a routine for Cressie. I have learnt so much over the past 9 weeks which has in turn given me so much confidence.

Nanny Rae is trust worthy, kind and devoted to her job. She has true calling to look after and care for babies. Cressie has been looked after fantastically and such a happy baby as a result of nanny Rae’s nurturing love and care.

Having Nanny Rae here in our home has been the best decision we have ever made and she will always be apart of our family. I wouldn’t recommend Nanny Rae enough. Not only will your baby be cared for expertly and lovingly but she will also establish a routine for you and the baby. ”

We will miss Nanny Rae xx”

Henrietta C Wimbledon

“Nanny Rae is in many ways like a real life Mary poppins. She has a surely unmatched amount of experience and is utterly devoted to the well being of the babies she looks after and she has tried and tested methods to help babies to be settled and as healthy as possible. Nanny Rae is one in a million and has become part of the family since she joined us to help overnight with our newborn, going far beyond the night nanny role to provide support and guidance to us as parents to our other little ones. Everything nanny Rae does is done with her heart in the right place and she is an incredibly special person that we are very glad our baby (and we) have in our lives”.

Heather R. Clapham

“Sometimes reviews can be very generic and unfortunately because of this trend, the words aren’t properly digested and so the feeling of the writer is lost and not fully understood. In the case of Nanny Rae, there is no collection of words than can truly capture how special she is to me and my family. My name is George Fox & I am the father of twin boys, named Elijah & Hendrix.

Call it synchronicity or something spiritually akin, Nanny Rae was made familiar to us by a very fortunate and random event, coming from Amy’s (My partner) auntie Ruth. A story Nanny Rae doesn’t know and will be finding out as she reads this, is I was initially completely opposed to having a night Nanny. To the point it caused a big argument between me and my partner (one of the many you have during newborn life, particularly with twins!)

I am a stubborn man, but I admit, I could not have been more wrong about this position. So where do I start? Before any of the education, structure or expertise, comes her special heart. I noticed very early on that we were dealing with a unique character, someone who I now call a ‘God send’. This was everything to me, as a prerequisite to laying any foundations with your children, you must feel someone’s heart and intentions. I pride myself on such intuition & feeling after meeting someone. Post this first meet, it became apparent that Nanny exceeded whatever I had hoped for.

I cannot begin to explain the demands of having twins. From worrying about eating patterns, to sleepless nights, to them disturbing one another, to the finer details of how to feed - the list goes on. I can wholeheartedly say that she has entered our lives and not only shared priceless advice but implemented sound structure, so that the twins development is ensured and also so that our lives have become significantly better than they ever would have been without her.

Her vast plethora of knowledge & experience on all things baby related is matched by her attention to detail and specificity. Not only has she advised on things to get within the home to make life easier, but she meticulously carries out her processes to make sure that no stone is left unturned.

Honestly, I could be here all day talking about each detail, to a point that almost matches her extensive note taking on all things related to your babies! Her doing this gives you such a clear picture and keeps you up to speed with where you are at with your little ones & what patterns or trends to look out for which may evoke certain responses.

All in all, working with Nanny Rae is the best decision we have made post birth. In fact it is a gift. Not only has she been our teacher & our Nanny, she has now become family. I say this because she will forevermore hold a place in my family’s heart & that is something we will never forget"

George F Potters Bar - father of newborn twin boys

"I call Rae "the Baby Whisperer". She came to help me when my son was just 3 weeks old, and within an hour of arriving had him sleeping soundly in his Moses Basket -- something I had been unable to achieve!

She consistently went above and beyond the call of duty, helping me to organize his bottles, sterilization, sleeping routine and more. Rae truly cares about all the children she looks after. And her years of experience are invaluable--she is able to speak babies "language," helping new mums to interpret cries, body language, and just generally understand the child's needs--all of which is hugely useful in helping you to take the best care of your little one!"

Liz F. Chelsea, SW3

“Rae was my night nanny for my fourth and fifth children. She was recommended to me by a friend.

I needed someone that would be able to put my newborn babies into routine quickly as I have other children all under 6. I’ve had maternity nurses previously with my other children but they never managed to put my baby into routine. They just took the baby in the night and let me have a good sleep.

From the first night Rae was here (the first time) with my fourth child, she managed to put my baby in a routine and by 6 weeks my baby was sleeping through the night. Rae was a real pleasure to work with. She’s warm, caring, friendly and really lovely. It was very sad to see her go, but she came back to me 2 years later when I had my fifth child !

I recommend Rae fully with all my heart”.

Denise J Golders Green, NW11

“Rachel was our night nanny for the months of March and April. She was an enormous help with our new baby. She helped us to settle the baby into a good routine and gave us various, really helpful tips as a new Mum and Dad. She had a lovely way with our new daughter. She also has a wealth of experience to support her in her role as a nanny caring for our baby with lots of love, so that we felt comfortable leaving our baby in her hands while we had some time off. Rachel was always punctual, respectful and discreet. I can wholeheartedly recommend her as a night nanny.”

Emma D. Highgate, N6

“Rae entered our life at a time when my maternity nurse had just left us and we felt that we still needed assistance with settling our son into a more consistent schedule. From the moment she walked into our home, I knew Rae would be a very warm, gentle and wise person to have around the house and I was right. Rae has not only worked for countless mothers with their babies but has had a few of her own and has an innate understanding of babies and a deep founded chore of common sense which in indispensable for this type of work. Whenever my baby cried she know exactly why and how to appease the situation, Rae never followed instructions from a book or a manual because she didn’t need to. This is where her confidence kicked in and made me feel so secure without feeling like my control as a mother was being taken away. I cannot recommend Rae enough. Rae gages personalities very well and in doing so she fits in to the family environment very easily. Her gentle, spiritual character enable her to do this. She is discreet and her passion for her work shows in everything she does. All mothers and babies are very lucky to have Rae to look after them”.

Alexia P Fulham, SW6

“My husband and I have had a truly wonderful experience with Rae. In a very short time – one week – she taught me how to put my 6 week old son on a schedule. Prior to her arrival I had no idea when my son would be eating or sleeping but after a few days, he had completely settled into a predictable routine. In addition to her assistance with my son’s sleeping, she taught me how to identify when he is having tummy problems and showed me different ways to effectively soothe him. If we weren’t moving back to the US, we would want to keep Rae with us for as long as possible. We feel very lucky to have found her and without Rae we would not have learnt to needs of our son nearly as well or a quickly. I would be happy to tell anyone how terrific she is…”

Jessica C. South Kensington, SW7

(now in the US – email address available)

“Nanny Rae was our night nanny from 4th August to 7th December 2012 and worked 6 nights a week during that time.

We are third time parents who were looking for a night nurse to look after our baby so that we could look after our older two children!

When we met Nanny Rae, we felt that she would care and love our baby. We had heard so many stories about night nurses who arrive on time and leave on time and don't do anything in between and we didn't want that. After all, it's hard enought to leave your baby in the care of someone else, but when you do, you want to know that that person will love and care for your baby.

We also felt that Nanny Rae had a lot of experience with babies, and understood about their wants, needs and routines. During her time with us she approached and solved every problem with total care.

For the first two days before Nanny Rae started, she gave us all a masterclass in everything baby related, from sterilising bottles to which swaddles to buy. Even though we were third time parents, we had a lot to learn! We couldn't believe how much we forgot or didn't know, and we still practice everything we learnt from Nanny Rae.

Nanny Rae also put our baby into a routine for the daytime as well as the nightime. She explained to us how it worked so that we were able to continue her nightime work into the day. We kept very detailed logs so that Nanny Rae could see what our baby was doing as this had an effect on the night as well as an indication of her general well being. We never thought that having a night nurse would mean that you would also get a daytime routine. Nanny Rae took care to ensure that any routine was adapted to suit our baby and our family and it is because of this we had a routine that started and worked from the day our baby arrived home from hospital.

It is difficult to summarise all that Nanny Rae did for us and our baby, or all the experiences we had with her, but Nanny Rae was with us for 4 months and that in itself should convey how happy we were.

Thanks to Nanny Rae we have a beautiful baby who is settled and thriving, a family that is very settled and, above all, a friend who will always be part of our baby's life and our family”.

Jane H.Y. Hampstead, NW3

“When selecting a night nanny, we were looking for someone with whom we would feel comfortable leaving our 5 week old baby, as well as someone who would be able to assist us set a routine through the night. We were immediately impressed with all the positive references about Rae as well as her personal statement which resonated warmth and genuine care. After initially speaking with her over the phone, both my husband I felt confident that Rae would be someone we could have in our home 6 nights a week for the following 6 weeks.

What we didn't expect, however, was just how integral Rae became in our education as new parents as well as how supportive and caring she would be with our son as well as me, a nervous new mother with no family living in the UK. Rae came into our home and instilled calm, confidence and peace. Her amazing work and personal experience and genuine attention to detail was helpful in identifying our son's undiagnosed reflux and from there she became an invaluable source of information, advice and support on many issues relating to feeding, sleeping, general care and overall parenting approach. Rae immediately helped us establish a routine that continues today -- a positive, predictable and enjoyable 24 hour routine that can be flexible to allow for real life curve balls. She works incredibly close with the mother to ensure there is always open communication and sharing of the daily and nightly events so that the next day can be anticipated. Our son was sleeping through the night by 8 weeks and with Rae's genuine interest and care for our family, helped me through the tribulations of getting the right diagnosis and medication for our son over the following weeks. Her sense of humour, enjoyable conversation and willingness to help made her company pleasant and welcomed for both my husband and me. She was always punctual and willing to come early if my husband and I wanted a night out. She would frequently stay later than 7am to ensure everything was set up for the day, making breakfast and tea for me as a prepared for the day ahead.

Upon returning from Canada when our son was 4.5 months old, Rae quickly came for a troubleshooting day to assist me get him back on his routine after it was disturbed with the demands of travel and the time difference. Moreover, when our son was ready to begin solids, Rae spent the day teaching me how to prepare my son's food and weaning him.

Rae has instilled me with confidence and awareness of how to interpret and react to my son as he grows -- all of these things were beyond the call of duty of our initial engagement with Rae and this is the difference between Rae and other night nannies; Rae's depth of knowledge, wisdom and heart have no boundaries. Her thoroughness, confidence and dedication to our family has been priceless and we only hope to have more babies soon so that we can have Rae back in our home being a welcome part of our family as we adapt to a new member again”.

Christina R. Clapham, SW4

(Christina is expecting her second baby in January 2014 and has invited me back to work with her again)