Do you sometimes feel frustrated at not being able to take a holiday when you want to? Or are you keen to get home for longer than just Christmas day this year, or to earn some extra cash?
Experienced nannies or maternity nurses looking for more flexibility in their lives could consider signing up to an agency such as Night Nannies, whose main clients want help with a newborn baby - but not 24 hours a day, like a maternity nurse.
The agency was founded 18 months ago by Anastasia Baker, then a TV journalist who was struggling with lack of sleep after the birth of her second child, Alexander. At the time, her daughter Amelia was 21 months old and, as she says, 'I was desperate to find an experienced nanny who would come two or three nights a week to help me out. All I wanted was the occasional full night's sleep and then I knew I could manage anything.' The agency had also planned to provide nannies for parents needing to go away at night, but there has proved to be less demand for this than anticipated. Most clients are looking for relief from the relentless grind of waking up several times, night after night, to care for a new baby while trying to work and do everything else. And if they take an evening out they don't want to have to rush back for a babysitter or get up too early the next day.
For the time being Anastasia has put her TV career on hold. She says, 'I still have an agent, but the business and my children are all I care about now. I did it for ten years, and the life of a TV reporter does not fit with being a mother.'
Anastasia sets high standards. Each new nanny on her books - about 80 at present -faces a rigorous interview. The aim is to build up a bank of experienced people she can use again and again. She also holds regular gatherings at her home, where the night nannies have first aid refresher courses taught by a doctor and can also meet each other socially.
She is interested in recruiting nurses (including students), former maternity nurses and qualified nannies who have cared for at least three or four babies in the past.
The work is mainly in London, although a Night Nannies franchise has now been started in Wiltshire and Hampshire by mother-of-two Georgie Bateman (see box). Another is on the cards in Guildford, Surrey. Anastasia also has plans to franchise Night Nannies in New York, with the prospect of nannies on her books travelling overseas for a stint.
Lyn Martin, 28, was working as a maternity nurse in Hong Kong before she signed up for Night Nannies. She has 12 years' experience as a nanny. 'As a maternity nurse you earn an average of 600 gross per week,' she says. 'But you live with the family all day and all night for six weeks at a time, with just one day off a week, and it can get very exhausting. You seem to get booked up and booked up, and sleep deprivation creeps up on you in the end. Your social life goes out of the window. After three years something had to give, so I decided to go back to nannying.'
Lyn recalls the time her sister got married in a remote part of Scotland. As a maternity nurse (then in England) she wanted to go to the wedding, but knew she would be in the middle of an assignment. 'I thought, golly, how am I ever going to work this out? You have to have it all arranged beforehand. It's like a military operation. It was a lovely day but I didn't really relax because I was thinking about how I was going to get back to London in time to work the next day.'
Lyn approached Night Nannies after reading a newspaper article about it.
She offered to work five nights a week and is now glad not to have to work during the day. Even when she does work, she says, 'I probably average about four hours of sleep a night, which isn't the end of the world.'
Lyn recently moved with her partner to a village in Berkshire, where she is still unpacking boxes and has a 'chickens and dogs' lifestyle. Night Nannies found her a client in Guildford, not too far to drive. Being free at weekends is 'very special' to her. She says, 'You can choose the nights you want to work. And the hours mean that I can leave in the evening after the rush hour and get home in the morning before the rush hour. I love the variety and meeting different people and different babies.'
A recent car accident left Lyn unable to work for several weeks. Her car was written off and she had suffered whiplash, which made it difficult to lift a baby. But this made working for Night Nannies just the ticket. 'In this work you are freelance and flexible,' she says. 'You are not singing to somebody else's tune. In a full-time job it would have upset an employer, because I would have had to take sick leave or have problems lifting up the children.' This way, Lyn could go back when she was ready. But there is a steady flow of work when she needs it.
Claire Hill, 25, joined Night Nannies in March this year. She became a nanny eight years ago and has also worked in day nurseries and as a children's holiday rep in Spain, with travelling stints in between. Claire, who lives in Bushey, north of London, now has a part-time day job two days a week in Islington, London, with a former Night Nannies client.
Claire says, 'Eva was my night baby for two-and-a-half months when she was four weeks old. I looked after her six nights a week. Then after two-and-a-half months she started sleeping through the night. The family didn't want me to leave, so I have carried on working two days a week.' She has also just started a three-month night-nannying assignment for another family with a new baby. This job is four nights a week for three months. She finds the variety of both day and night work stimulating. If she was doing nothing during the day she would get bored.
'Every baby is different,' says Claire. 'During the day I have a nice time with Eva. I take her to music group and we go for walks.'
She tends to choose assignments near her home and is glad she has the option of refusing jobs further away. She can also visit her boyfriend in Cyprus regularly without compromising her work. 'At the moment it works brilliantly with what I want to do with my life. I really enjoy it.'
