Twin Maternity Nurse

Vicki is FANTASTIC

People always ask me, 'what's the best thing you bought when the babies were born?' and my immediate response is always, 'We invested in a twin expert maternity nurse (Vicki) and the babies slept through the night by 10.5 weeks.'

Not only does she know what she is doing, she has a very gentle approach and works with the babies' rhythms vs. being overly strict or harsh. To do this work and do it well you have to have a strong sense of compassion for new parents and understand babies' limited methods of communication. Vicki has it all. And she works hard.

In our case, she even came to the hospital to help us after an unplanned c-section, when I couldn't get out of bed and my husband was exhausted from the trauma of it all. Our babies have an amazing schedule that she still consults us on, and I attribute Vicki with getting us through the first 12 weeks of their lives with some relative peace and harmony.

It can be so stressful and exhausting, to have somebody like Vicki who is kind, thoughtful, dependable and who knows what they are doing (and are amazing with the babies!!) is simply the most amazing thing.

We feel so blessed that we found her! And I simply cannot recommend her highly enough.

We were able to get our babies on an amazing schedule working with Vicki every other week, which was even more telling.

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by Story on 23/09/2019

Brilliant with twins

Vicky came to us when our twins were 3 weeks old , I immediately felt comfortable with her and she was a pleasure to have in our house . She is an absolute professional and has a wealth of experience with ?babies . She gave us loads of tips and even lent us the best swaddle blankets. Even now she makes herself available to us for advice and help should we need it , she really has made having twins seem 'easy' .if your expecting twins and looking for help book her immediately as we cannot recommend her enough.

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by Parent on 22/11/2015

Excellent consultation

I wanted to take the opportunity to highly recommend Vicki. She came for a home visit when my son was 5 months old, and had recently experienced a "sleep regression". I was exhausted, anxious and stuck. This state came as quite a shock, given how much I had loved the first 4 months of motherhood. I was so tired and had read so much conflicting advice, I needed someone to do my thinking for me. Vicki was down-to-earth, really approachable and incredibly knowledgeable. As mentioned above, she came for a home visit which was fantastic as she was able to notice things I had not (and would not have reported to her on the phone). In addition, she was able to try different strategies with my son straight away, give me individualised guidance specifically around my son, and most importantly of all she showed me how to do key things differently.
As if this all wasn't great enough - Vicki then made herself available for follow up advice via Whatsapp, which was great at those times when things didn't go according to plan. She was always reassuring, non-judgemental and available day & night.
Things changed very quickly with my son, and I was soon much better slept, way more confident again and enjoying motherhood again.
Thanks Vicki!!!

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by Parent on 02/06/2015

Very helpful!

Victoria enabled my husband and I to understand when our baby boy was tired, to read the signals and importantly to understand how to settle him in his cot. Any new parent will appreciate how important these skills are. Victoria offered us such valuable knowledge, we have used a qualified midwife and several highly qualified doulas, however when it came to routine and understanding sleep, when our baby turned right weeks old and I had established exclusively breastfeeding him and he had gained weight, it was the perfect time to learn from Victoria. Our little boy seems happier when he's awake now and enjoys that time with us. I carry him around less and have less aches as a result and more confidence in feeling I understand his needs. I would highly recommend Victoria if you are trying to establish some tips and practical guidance for healthy sleeping patterns. It will take hard work to persevere with changes to your routine but our little boy is now taking about seven naps each day which is a major change! Victoria has also been available to answer questions quickly and give advice to support us when she's not here. Learning to help enable your child to go to sleep when they are tired is wonderful, it doesn't always work immediately for us, but we have noticed a big change since we took the advice of Victoria.

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by Kate on 22/02/2015

Maternity Nurse for our 3 children

Vicki was maternity nurse to our new born son in Nov and Dec 2010. During that time, she very quickly put him on a routine, which he thrived on. It was not before long (at about 3 weeks old) that he was going through the dream feed (1030pm) to 7am with no interruption. In addition to the excellent routine, she cared for him with a great deal of love and affection. At 4 years old, he continues to be a very happy, content little boy who is also an amazing sleeper.
We called Vicki back in August of this year, for 8 weeks to help us care for our newborn twin girls. Again she did a phenomenal job caring for them. It was not before long that one of my girls was sleeping through the night and the other one followed shortly after. Vicki put them in an excellent routine from the day they got home from the hospital. She helped me with breastfeeding the girls and keeping my milk supply so that I could continue feeding the girls until they were past 3 months old. She left us with very happy and contented little babies .
I cannot recommend Vicki enough to any family with a newborn, whether it be a singleton or multiples. She has a tremendous ability to be able to understand babies, do what's right for them and be a great support to the parents. She is a very calm person and in the four years I have known her, she has never been anxious or nervous around our babies. As a matter of fact, she loves a good challenge and thrives on difficult situations. After she left us, she continued to guide and advise me on getting my twins through their routine and helping me with any questions or concerns I had.
She regularly keeps in touch and over the years has come back to visit our son. Being a maternity nurse is much more than a job for Vicki, it is a true passion and she really excels at it. During the time she was with us, the atmosphere in our home was very calm and relaxed. It was hard to believe that we had 3 children under the age of 4. My twin girls are now 16 weeks old and are great sleepers and are very happy and content little babies !
I would not hesitate recommending Vicki to any mother looking for a maternity nurse... she really is fantastic.

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by Parent on 09/12/2014

Wonderful maternity nurse

Victoria Smith worked for us as a Maternity Nurse to our newborn twins for 12 weeks from March to June 2014.

We have nothing but good things to say about Vicki - from the moment she came to help us establish breastfeeding in the hospital to the end of the 12 weeks she was worth her weight in gold. I am in no doubt that the fact I have been able to exclusively breastfeed our twins was down to all the practical support and encouragement she provided.

She taught us best practice techniques for all things to do with the babies, including bathing, changing, dressing appropriately for the weather, sterilising etc etc. It meant that our first few weeks were really very enjoyable, without the "new parent panic" I was expecting, and that is probably the one thing I am most grateful for. She was also extremely helpful recommending the right kit to buy - it saved us a lot of time and effort!

I was initially nervous about inviting somebody I had barely met to live with us 24/6, but Vicki was extremely unobtrusive and made sure that my husband and I had our own space when he came home from work. She was very clean and tidy and made no extra work at all, and was always good company.

She encouraged us to go out a few times in order to have a break, and I was surprised at how relaxed I felt leaving our very young children with someone else. But you couldn't ask for a safer or calmer pair of hands to leave them with. We also took Vicki with us for our first weekend away and she was invaluable in making sure we had everything we needed, and taking the twins in the evenings so that we could properly relax.

Needless to say, Vicki was also very good with the babies - helping to establish a gentle routine which kept them relaxed and happy. She was playful and engaging with them but always made sure their mum could see their facial expressions so I didn't feel left out when breastfeeding their sibling across the room!

All in all we couldn't recommend Vicki highly enough, and we will certainly be inviting her back if we are lucky enough to have any more children.

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by Twinsnw3 on 01/08/2014

Reliable, experienced, caring

We employed Vicki for 6 weeks after the birth of our son in June 2013. She came recommended by a friend and had a very impressive cv. In the end it was the best decision we could have made. She was friendly, highly experienced, and always willing to do what it took to support us in those first few weeks. I've heard some horror stories about maternity nurses from friends and feel so lucky that we found Vicki, who understands babies as well as anyone can and is able to get them into a good, healthy routine from the start. I had some problems breastfeeding and my baby cried a lot in the hospital but with as soon as we got home, with Vicki's help, we started to establish a good routine and he slept a lot better.
Even since she stopped working for us full time, Vicki has been willing to answer my questions and give me advice (even in the middle of the night!), and she recently came back for a night to help us do some sleep training.
Some people might be worried about sharing those first few weeks with a stranger and wonder what it will feel like, but I can honestly say that Vicki fitted in perfectly. She was discreet, supportive and willing to listen to our concerns and preferences. I would recommend her happily to anyone. She really is the best in the business.

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by Parent on 12/02/2014

Excellent Maternity nurse & Trouble Shooter

Vicky Smith was maternity nurse to our two newborn twins for 8 weeks in August and September of 2013.

Vicky has many brilliant qualities that make her ideally suited to being a maternity nurse, which I describe more below, but her absolute stand-out skill, rare I think amongst maternity nurses, is a uniquely high degree of problem solving.

Problems in our new twins she helped us identify and solve:
• Lactose intolerance (allergy to milk sugar)
• GERD (a particularly bad form of acid reflux that causes severe distress on feeding)
• Constipation
• Uneven sleeping rhythms
• Reverse cycling (when babies are more awake during the day than the night)

She also worked with the various challenges twins and new parent-hood often brings.
• For instance, one of our twins was only 4lb when we returned from the hospital and needed extremely frequent feeding. (Virtually every 2 hrs 24 hrs a day).
• Also, we were new parents with a real lack of baby skills, all of which she helped us master. And over time our needs for help alternated with a need for private time, and she adapted very willingly and with good humour to all our developments.

It goes without saying that any maternity nurse worthy of the name has a strong affinity for babies and Vicky is no exception. She tunes in to them and cares for them with kindness and patience second to none. But what is not always appreciated is that the parents too, need support and understanding, and in this Vicky’s flexibility, responsiveness and super-even, cheerful temperament were invaluable.

In the 8 weeks she lived with us, she never caused us any stress and was always a reassuring, welcome presence, who became a friend in times of maximum joy & stress. But I will wager that even if you sometimes find these qualities in other maternity nurses, you will not find someone as totally committed to solving all and any challenge the babies present.

In fact, Vicky loves a challenge. She thrives on being able to use her considerable knowledge and intelligence to work out how to solve things and is ceaselessly thoughtful in finding a solution.

I recommend her whol- heartedly as a general-support maternity nurse, but in particular for all types of problem solving and infant feeding and sleep management.

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by Parent on 17/10/2013

Amazing Maternity Nurse

Vicki joined us when my daughter was 3 weeks old and worked her magic from the offset!

She came highly recommended from two sets of friends, so while we never questioned her ability, I was nervous about having someone in our home for 4 weeks around the arrival of our first child but I can honestly say we never looked back.

We explained to her at the beginning that we wanted to be hands on and really learn from her while she was with us; Vicki has a very unique ability to be able to impart her expect knowledge without any condescension. At the same time, her expert help meant that I could rest and recover from delivery. She understands that everyone is looking for something different when they hire a maternity nurse and adapts to this. What's more, she was friendly, kind and a pleasure to have around (even our dog took a shine to her and would follow her around the house!).

She had our daughter into a great routine, feeding 3 hourly and sleeping well within days and moved her to 4 hourly before she left. She helped us to understand our daughter who was a tricky feeder and projectile vomiter, and she gave very neutral informed advice on breastfeeding V bottle and dealing with issues such as mastitis.

Our daughter was sleeping from her dream feed until 7am by her second week with us; today at 3 months she is still a brilliant sleeper. Before she left Vicki gave us advice on the next few months and how to adapt the routine as she gets older.

The arrival of our first child was a fantastic experience and a far cry from the frazzled sleepless night horror stories that we all associate with a newborn baby. My husband and I feel very fortunate to have met her and would recommend her in a second.

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by Parent on 11/12/2012

Instant improvements

I turned to Vicki for help with my 3-week old daughter, who was fussy, restless and seemingly unhappy most of the day. I was exhausted, confused and exasperated. However, Vicki was able to quickly steer me in a new direction, advising me to replace the rigid routine I was trying with a simpler one, to feed differently and to help my daughter self soothe. She was a joy to spend time with, being confident and knowledgeable without being pushy or making me feel inadequate. From the very next day, my daughter was happier and more peaceful and over the next month Vicki's advice helped every day. I highly recommend Vicki, whether it's just for a day or two or on a more long-term basis.

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by Parent on 09/11/2012