Night nanny three nights a week for a toddler who still wakes twice. Worth it?

breezy_gecko_850528 Jul 2026

Our daughter is a year and a half and still wakes two or three times most nights. My partner and I take alternate nights. On my nights I'm useless the next day, and my work is research sessions with people I can't reschedule easily. The agency that placed our day caregiver has offered someone for three nights a week. It would cost a fair bit, and it means a stranger in the house at night handling her when she wakes up confused. The alternative is carrying on as we are and hoping she grows out of it soon. I keep going back and forth on it, at 1.45 am, obviously.

2 comments

silver_badminton_573228 Jul 2026
Awake myself at this hour, for less interesting reasons. We never had night help with either of ours. We took turns, and I genuinely don't remember large parts of those years. If you can afford it, try it for a month and see. A month isn't a commitment.
breezy_camera_247029 Jul 2026
When my son was small I was on call a lot, and we had a woman who stayed two nights a week. It helped me more than it helped him. He still woke, she just went to him instead of me. Insist she follows your settling routine exactly, otherwise you'll have two different routines and a confused child.