Noemi was three months when I joined the family in New York. I had previously worked for them a few years prior in London looking after their newborn twin boys.

Due to prior commitments I was unable to join the family when their daughter was born so having agreed to set aside a two week window should the need arise, the family went on to secure the services of a maternity nurse.

On my arrival I immediately noticed that Noemi seemed very unhappy, clingy and unsettled. There seemed to be no routine or structure in place and their daughter’s feeding and sleeping schedule seemed very chaotic and stressful for the family especially with twin boys as well.

My first 24 hours was spent observing Noemi, trying to pick up any patterns of behaviour. I always recommend keeping a diary when implementing a routine. To help implement structure and a sustainable routine, it is always important to start every day at the same time and this will help to build structure of both feed times and nap times.

Within a couple of days and some tweaking, Noemi was sleeping from 7pm to 7am napping at set times during the day and her feeding schedule had improved dramatically.

It was lovely to see the change from a clingy temperamental baby to a happy independent little girl.