Today we’d like to introduce you to Denise Stern.
Hi Denise, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I gave birth to my twin girls in 2009, and like so many moms, even though I had done everything “right” and was in good health, the pregnancy left me with severely high blood pressure and at risk for having a stroke. I already had a one-year-old son and my husband didn’t have paternity leave and caring for two newborns and a young toddler just wasn’t something I could safely do. This personal experience led me to start Let Mommy Sleep. I thought there might be other parents like me who unexpectedly needed a helping hand, and it turns out there are a LOT of us!
The company started in Washington DC in 2010 and the simple concept of meticulous postpartum quickly gained momentum, landing Let Mommy Sleep on a national stage as the country’s leading in-home baby nurse and postpartum care service. It was clear that more locations had to open in order to meet the need for qualified, vaccinated night nurses and nannies so we began franchise efforts in 2016. There are now 10 Let Mommy Sleep franchises on the east coast, Chicago and Las Vegas.
Our ultimate goal is to revolutionize postpartum care in America, making it a national norm and bringing qualified support to all newborns and their parents.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road but we wouldn’t have it any other way!
One of the interesting struggles we encounter with overnight and newborn care is that parents, particularly mothers sometimes feel guilty asking for help. This is a uniquely American sentiment because moms are expected to do it all here; extended families are often spread apart or unable to help, family leave is often very short and the “it takes a village” mentality isn’t a norm for many. We can market and promote our services every single day but the guilt some parents have is a difficult hurdle in getting them support.
Another struggle we have is that in-home infant care is that the industry is unaggregated; it’s a bit of a wild west with little to no oversight, certification and licensing. With no certification or licensing, how can parents trust us? We overcome this challenge by deciding to hire clinical caregivers to provide care. A caregiver with clinical licensure is accountable to their state’s board of nursing so in addition to our own vetting, parents have peace of mind that their caregiver’s credentials are governed by the state.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Let Mommy Sleep?
Let Mommy Sleep has been providing nurturing, overnight care to newborns and evidence-based education to parents since 2010.
Our Baby Nurses (RN’s and LPN’s) and Newborn Care Providers (NCP) support families just home from the hospital with their newborns by teaching basic infant care as well as providing care of baby overnight while parents recuperate.
We lean more clinical in our staffing, which means that our caregivers are licensed and accountable to their state’s Board of Nursing. They have experience in area hospitals doing clinical rotations or ongoing work in Maternity and Postpartum floors. We do make exceptions in hiring night nannies with an exceptional amount of real-life experience and in those cases caregivers have a minimum of: CPR/First Aide Certification, SIDS & Safe Sleep Certificate and our Newborn and Postpartum Care Certificate.
We are also pro-vaccine with all updated immunizations including the flu shot and COVID19.
Let Mommy Sleep is the only agency in the country awarded a government contract to teach Newborn Care. Our courses are part of the Fairfax County Adult Continuing Education (ACE) program and we teach student nurses, new parents and even nanny agencies.
Our non-profit, Mission: Sleep provides free care to military and first responders whose babies arrive when a parent is deployed, wounded or deceased. This is the thing we’re most proud of!
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
My favorite childhood memory is going to the beaches on Long Island where I’m from. The everyday memories of collecting shells, examining horseshoe crabs and even stopping at the General Store on the way to the beach to get a soda are just perfect to me. As a kid, it’s just a fun day outside, but as an adult I cherish and understand the gift of those carefree, stress-free times.
Pricing:
- $34 per hour for a Night Nanny
- $44 per hour for a Registered Nurse
Contact Info:
- Website: www.letmommysleep.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/letmommysleep
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/letmommysleepnightnurses
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/letmommysleep
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/letmommysleepusa
