KEY POINTS:
Anne Benshaw thought she was ready for motherhood. But she reckoned without the sleep-deprivation caused by a baby with reflux.
"I had hundreds of nappies, months of meals in the freezer, auto messages on the phone," said the 37-year-old. "I was prepared for sleepless nights and crying. But
when my baby just screamed and cried... I didn't know where to turn."
Enter Wendy Blackburn. The Karitane-trained nurse has more than 25 years' experience with babies and offers an overnight babysitting service.
She's behind new website blissfulbabies.co.nz but has quietly run the business for two years.
For about $200 a night, Blackburn can arrive with a bag of tricks, including muslin wraps and reflux-friendly bottles, and nurture your newborn until dawn.
She can do the first feed of the day and slip out as the family wakes to face the day bright-eyed.
Or if the parents have been out partying and prefer to sleep off their hangovers, she can stay longer, at between $25 and $30 an hour.
Blackburn also helps families through their first 48 hours at home with their newborn and teaches parents how to cope with twins.
Benshaw, who owns a property investment company with her husband Russell, says Blackburn has worked wonders. Her daughters Grace, 2, and 6-month-old Bailey were both diagnosed with reflux, screaming constantly, projectile vomiting and sleeping badly for their first four months.
Benshaw remembers the first time she called Blackburn to the family's Epsom home.
"I felt, really, like I was going a bit mad. Within a couple of hours she was on my doorstep... what a sanity saver."
Benshaw said it was a relief to get some sleep and a helping hand.
Since then, she has used the overnight service half a dozen times and says it's cheap compared with hiring professionals such as plumbers.
"My parents thought it was a celebrity thing to do. But my coffee group were like, 'What's the number and how can I get hold of them - now?"'
Benshaw has since recommended Blissfulbabies to 20 friends, saying Blackburn arrived, fixed the problems, armed her with the right skills and then left.
But while she's in demand, Blackburn hates the idea of being labelled New Zealand's answer to Jo Frost, star of US reality TV show Supernanny. The 56-year-old mother of three grown children prefers the no-fuss title maternity nurse.
Blackburn says she and former business partner Kathie Palin have helped a few Kiwi celebrities including a TV presenter and a former All Black and his family. But her regular client-base comprises mature mums in wealthier suburbs who need help with hard-to-handle newborns.
Their families are usually unable to help too much because they are older, out-of-town or lead busy lives.
Blackburn doesn't mind the unsociable hours. She says she's a night owl who does the job for love.
"There's just something about a newborn that makes me melt," she says. "In some people's eyes I think I'm a necessity."
