Hiring Her Was the Best Decision We Ever Made!

 In April, my wife and I welcomed our first child, a baby girl, into the world. Like many new parents, we were frightened at the thought of bringing home a baby as we felt we didn’t have the knowledge or tools to get started on the right foot. We have several friends who received help from night nurses and newborn care specialists and say how positive the experience was for them, for their relationship as a couple, and for their new family. After looking into options in Montgomery County and DC, we came across Linda Lindsay, a newborn care specialist with years and years of experience helping hundreds of families; hiring her was the best decision we ever made!

As a husband, I felt it was very important for my wife to receive the help and support she needed to make this new experience as positive as possible. With no experience in caring for a newborn, or with breastfeeding, swaddling, burping, bathing, and all the other seemingly overwhelming tasks that come along with our new bundle of joy, it was daunting to think that I wasn’t going to be much help for my wife during this critical time. From the moment we first spoke with Linda, it was apparent that she is an expert in everything-newborn and was going to be a helpful, calming force to familiarize us into our new life with a child. Linda worked tirelessly with my wife to help with breastfeeding, taught us best practices for our nighttime routine and for feeding, swaddling, and burping, and she always did what was best for our baby and for us. Having her overnight allowed us to rest and recover each night – Linda handled everything throughout the night with my wife only having to breastfeed for short periods. When she arrived each evening, we’d talk about the plan for the night, and each morning we’d talk about how the night went and she would spend time to answer all our questions and teach us anything we needed to know.

If new parents have any anxiety about bringing home their newborn or have already decided they want help with their newborn, Linda Lindsey has our highest recommendation. Having Linda help us during the nights after we brought our baby home is something we’ll never forget – an invaluable experience that has paid for itself time and time again. Her demeanor, her knowledge and skills, her love for the job, and her amazingly positive attitude are second to none. Thanks for everything, Linda!

Erin and Jason

DC Metro Area 

Linda is an outstanding caregiver. My wife and I worked with her from December 2, 2015 through December 23, 2015, during which time she served as a night nurse for our newborn daughter Maya. She provided us with fifteen nights of service, which included comprehensive care for Maya as well as ample instruction to my wife and I regarding the full spectrum of topics related to newborn care, including the mechanics of breastfeeding, bottle feeding, sleep issues, diaper changing, and how to positively interact with our baby. Every evening, she provided this service with a level of professionalism, passion, excitement, and dedication that far exceeded anything my wife and I could have expected from a caregiver. Simply put, she is one of the best service providers either of us have ever encountered.

Linda is a person of tremendous character. She is brimming with love, and it shows in everything she does. Her interactions with our family were gentle and caring throughout our time with her. She is also calm and patient; she maintained her composure and command of the situation regardless of what was going on with our child—no matter how late in the evening or how colicky our newborn was acting. (My wife particularly appreciated this given how difficult it can be to breastfeed an upset newborn who is having difficulty latching in the middle of the night.) Linda is also thoroughly affable: I spent more than a few evenings chatting the night away with Linda as my wife and daughter got some much needed rest. Through our conversations I learned that—perhaps unsurprisingly—Linda is no less dedicated to her three children and husband than she is to her clients. During this time, we also shared many laughs together, a product of her wonderful sense of humor and generally jovial nature. (My wife and I really appreciated that, given how exhausted we were by the time she arrived during the evenings.)

Linda’s work ethic and commitment level are extraordinary. She was attentive and vigilant throughout every night she worked with us, so we always felt confident and assured leaving our newborn in Linda’s hands. Linda was also punctual: she always arrived early and left late. Indeed, more than once, Linda offered to work beyond the time she was being paid solely to ensure that our child was receiving the care that she needed. Linda was also exceptionally flexible, allowing us to reschedule as necessary given the continually evolving sleep and waking cycles of our newborn. To do so required her to stay in continual contact with us—even during non-work hours—to ensure that we had her at our home during the hours we needed her most. Yet she did this happily, without ever recognizing the tremendous service she was providing for us. And, perhaps most importantly, Linda seemed to genuinely develop a strong bond with our newborn. Like magic, Linda always seemed to know the right thing to say or do to calm Maya down, put her at ease, and allow her to be the happy baby every parent hopes to have. For that alone, we couldn’t be more grateful.

One small vignette provides a nice snapshot of Linda’s virtues and skills. My wife had significant difficulty with breastfeeding in the early weeks because of latching issues, and our daughter had lost quite a bit of weight since she was born. Our first two weeks home from the hospital were focused solely on helping her reach her birth weight, and it was no small task. From the beginning, Linda assisted my wife with latching and positioning, which was very helpful, but we were still very concerned about whether our daughter was getting enough milk and my wife was having a hard time with the breastfeeding pillow she had, which was causing her back strain and adding to the latching issues. 

One night, Linda showed up at our door with extra supplies: a hospital-grade scale to weigh our daughter, a new pillow for my wife, and a book about breastfeeding. We hadn’t asked her to get any of these things – instead, she had gone out of her way, in her spare time, to visit a lactation consultant she is friends with, talk to her about my wife’s problems, and try to help solve them. We weighed our daughter that night and were delighted to learn that she had in fact gained weight. That alone relieved so much stress and helped my wife feel like all of the difficulties she had been through were worth it. The book helped my wife feel like her experience was more normal. And the pillow was a game changer. Our daughter began latching much better and my wife was much more comfortable as a result of the pillow change. We could not be more grateful to Linda for going out of her way to help on this front.

Michael

DC Metro Area 

To whom it may concern,

It is my pleasure to write this letter in support of Linda Lindsay, who cared for my newborn twin girls during their first months of life (July to September 2018). I engaged Linda as a night nurse [customarily 10:00PM to 6:00AM] for my newborns on the recommendation of a close friend, who had been overwhelmingly pleased with Linda’s care for her newborn daughter and encouraged me to meet Linda. From the very first meeting, I have felt so grateful to know Linda and can recommend her most highly and without any reservations.

Linda’s personalized and compassionate care for me and my family began before my daughters were even born, as she helpfully corresponded by text with me to help guide decision- making as I set up my nursery. Her genuine excitement and encouragement brought sunshine to my third trimester of pregnancy. Linda had promised to be available the night we came home from the hospital, and she didn’t disappoint. Indeed, in those early days she worked long shifts, when requested, to ensure that my husband and I got some rest during the five nights per week when she was at our home. When we woke up each morning, all of the bottles and pump parts were clean and sterilized and the babies were sleeping soundly. What is more, Linda even helped us out by purchasing small needed supplies (such as a nipple shield) during her time off, and lending us items (such as a scale) of her own! I will never forget her generosity.

Linda’s strong, loving connection with my little ones was palpable, and I felt completely comfortable leaving them in her care while I slept. Linda has a magical touch with babies. Everything from her melodious voice, to her gentle rocking motion, to her “shhh whistle” (as my friend termed it) brought calm, peace, and sleep. It was clear from day one that Linda is an expert with twins and knows how to hold, feed, and rock two babies at once, in order to establish a synchronized schedule. Linda is an encyclopedic reference when it comes to babies, and I learned so much from her about nursing, pumping, diaper care, holding babies—you name it.

During middle-of-the-night pumping sessions, I enjoyed spending time with Linda while my babies slept. Just even Linda’s presence brought great comfort to me during a chaotic time. It is so empowering to have a non-judgmental and knowledgeable professional working in your home who can help guide you through the many decisions new parents must make.

While I know that every baby is different and that many factors impact a baby’s ability to sleep through the night, I credit Linda with teaching mine excellent nighttime habits and thus creating two great sleepers. In response to her method, my daughters have been sleeping 12-13 hours per night without any feedings or wake-ups since they were eleven weeks old (they are seven months old today)!! When asked to explain my “miracle babies,” I enjoy telling people about Linda: the joy, tranquility, and order she brought to our home, and how, from her, my daughters learned to associate the night with sleepy bliss.

M Nichols

DC Metro Area