Expect the Best
Have you heard the saying, "Plan for the worst and expect the best!"?
Everyone says, "Why didn't anyone tell me about this part?" "Where were you all when I had my baby?" and "I didn't know that in-home support after birth was a thing!"
"Plan for the worst and expect the best!"
I feel like our clients came up with these wise words of advice to try and help new parents, just like you. They're stressing just how difficult the fourth trimester is and how important it is for you to have the very best support by your side. This means you're not fighting an uphill battle alone and losing yourself more with every passing week.
From one parent to another,
The fourth trimester is a wild ride! Plan for the worst recovery imaginable: physically, emotionally, and mentally (although your recovery will probably fall somewhere in the middle-ish on the 1-10 scale). Then, secure support with The Jacksonville Baby Company in your second trimester and expect the best because that's exactly what you'll get with us!
Elizabeth
What you Can Expect
Overview
Typically, your specialist will arrive to you between 9 and 10 pm and stay throughout the night. She'll ask about your day, any challenges you've faced, and your preferences for the night.
During the night, your specialist will stay in the room with your baby or nearby with a monitor, tending to all the tasks between feedings and your needs, such as a healthy (or the occasional indulgent) snack and refilling your cup. Things your specialist can take care of for you are all the wakings and the diaper changes, including circumcision care. She will soothe the baby and tend to any other needs your baby may have, like clothing changes, burping, gas relieving techniques, and comfort. She can help wash up bottles, pump parts, and some light household tasks such as finishing a load of laundry!
You're always encouraged to pop-in throughout the night for snuggles if/when you desire, or you can make the most of your time and get the precious sleep you need without worry! Your specialist will bring your baby to you to breastfeed and assist you with any pumping and milk storage needs, and if you're bottle-feeding, she can take over fully on the nights she is there. Your care is customized to you!
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The Jacksonville Baby Company follows safe sleep guidelines. For families who bring us onto their team at least four nights a week, we can begin establishing healthy sleep associations and guiding your baby towards sleeping well through the night. While your specialist is there, she can also track feedings, diapers, and sleep patterns for you and take other relevant notes!
a night in the life
while breastfeeding
while formula feeding
9p.m.
You download the day's events and wishes for the night. Soon after, you have the opportunity for a relaxing shower while your newborn and specialist get acquainted. You get into bed feeling refreshed but exhausted. She brings you your baby and ensures you are all off to a good start. After feeding, your specialist takes over baby duties, allowing you to rest until your baby needs to be fed.
​Your Specialist Arrives
2nd Nursing and Snuggle Sesh
A gentle tap on the shoulder, dim lights, and your
yummy newborn, wearing only a fresh diaper, awaits you. As you enjoy skin-to-skin while nursing your baby and removing milk from the opposite breast, your specialist refreshes your water and washes up a few things left in the sink. When she returns, your baby is satisfied, milk is ready for supplementing, and you are already wondering how you would do this without her. You get in some final snuggles and make a quick trip to the bathroom before returning to bed for some more sleep.
12a.m.
​Your Specialist Arrives
9p.m.
You download the day's events and wishes for the night. Soon after, you have the opportunity for a relaxing shower while your newborn and specialist get acquainted. You get into bed feeling refreshed but exhausted. She brings you your baby so you can get some snuggles before bed. Meanwhile, she washes up the day's bottles and prepares for the next feeding.
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When you're ready, your specialist takes over baby duties, allowing you to get right to sleep. You don't have to go right to sleep unless you want to, though. You can enjoy a few minutes of one-on-one time with your partner, read with your firstborn, or catch up on a show you enjoy watching guilt-free.
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Your specialist will wash and prepare bottles, get things in order for the next day, and may even get a load of laundry folded. She continues to keep a watchful eye on or an attuned ear open and provide gentle one-on-one care for your newborn until you want to snuggle again, need support yourself, or until her shift is over.
As you sleep, your baby is burped, gets another diaper change (or two), and is awake. Your specialist recognizes your baby's cues and knows right away it's a hunger cue. She feeds your baby the supplement in a manner consistent with current recommendations for supplementing a breastfed newborn. Follow the feeding up with more gentle care, and your baby is satisfied but not overfull and is back to sleep within the hour.
1st Supplement and Diaper Change
1:30a.m.
7a.m.
On the nights your specialists are there, you wake up with a renewed sense of hope. You start to come into your own, feeling a sense of joy and regaining a sense of yourself again. As your specialist leaves, she ensures your baby is, above all else, safe! She also tries to time everything right so that your baby is fed, their diaper is dry, and they are sleeping so that you can get in a few more precious moments of sleep as her shift comes to an end.
A Renewed Sense of Hope
3a.m.
3rd Nursing and Snuggle Sesh
It's that time again! Your specialist is there with fresh pump parts or your Haaka and the cutest little thing you've ever laid eyes on. As you prepare to nurse and pump, your specialist undresses your newborn and keeps them content. This session goes much like the last. Maybe she provides some help with positioning and give a helpful tip for Haaka usage. Perhaps after the next session, she brings you an ice pack to help with all the achy, breaky parts (sorry, cheesy Billy Ray Cyrus reference). She reminds you to take any medicines prescribed to you and heads back to the nursery.
Wash, rinse, repeat through the wee hours of the morning.
7a.m.
A Renewed Sense of Hope
On the nights your specialists are there, you wake up with a renewed sense of hope. You start to come into your own, feeling a sense of joy and regaining a sense of yourself again. As your specialist leave, she ensures your baby is, above all else, safe! She also tries to time everything right so that your baby is fed, their diaper is dry, and they are sleeping so that you can get in a few more precious moments of sleep as her shift comes to an end.
while combination feeding
70%
Majority of Parents Are Combo Feeding
If you plan to combo feed or need to supplement after breastfeeding, your nights will likely look like a little of both the breastfeeding and formula-feeding parent's nights.
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The majority of parents we work with, approximately 70%, are combination feeding for at least the first week after birth. Many are still combo feeding in their newborn's 2nd week of life.
Some parents feed their babies from the breast and bottle-feed pump milk. Others are breastfeeding and then following up with a formula to supplement the feeds as they work on transitioning to the feeding method that is best for their family. Then, there are parents who are exclusively pumping.
We are knowledgeable and supportive through all of these feeding methods. Additionally, we can assist with syringe feeds and cup feedings when desired.
Parent Bonding
How will I bond with my newborn while
The Jacksonville Baby Company is here overnight?
Bonding happens in many ways every single day!
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From The ACOG (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) says All new parents need a baseline of support—sleep, healthy food, time to yourself—and then there might be reasons for extra care and attention.
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You will bond with your newborn through eye contact, touch, smell, words, and song. This means every diaper change is an opportunity for bonding. While your baby is snuggling on your chest, as they look up at you with curious eyes, each time you are feeding them is an opportunity for you to bond. Our society sometimes has a way of making parents feel guilty about not spending every moment with their babies. The truth is, though, meeting your own needs allows us to meet our baby's needs better!
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While we're with your family overnight, you're welcome to snuggle your baby as often or as little as you'd like because we understand your needs in parenthood will vary. The Jacksonville Baby Company is an essential part of a healthy recovery from birth. Not only do we provide that baseline of support mentioned by ACOG, but we go above and beyond to help, not hinder, your bond with your baby.
Local Service Area
Florida: All of Jacksonville,
Jax Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Ponte Vedra, St Augustine, Nocatee, Orange Park
and Camden county Georgia
Phone
904-924-4182