Preparing for a Newborn: Deciding on Support Before the Baby Arrives

Almost nobody arranges postpartum help in advance. They arrange it at 3 AM on day nine, from a phone, one-handed, having discovered that the plan was "we'll manage."

This is not a post about what a postpartum doula does — that one already exists, and so does what postpartum support costs. This is about the decisions worth making while you still have the bandwidth to make them.

The options, and what each is actually for

Postpartum support is for the parents as much as the baby. Feeding support, newborn care, light household work, and someone experienced in the room when you are not sure whether what is happening is normal. $38/hr, or $42/hr overnight between 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM.

Three daytime visits a week of three hours come to $342, about $1,482 a month; two overnights a week come to $672, about $2,912 a month.

Overnight support is the one families underestimate. Sleep is the resource that runs out first, and an overnight shift means somebody else handles the night feeds and settling. It is the single most restorative thing you can buy in the first weeks.

Hourly childcare for an older sibling. If this is not your first, the gap nobody plans for is the three-year-old who still needs a parent while you are recovering. Standard childcare is $32/hr for children 12 months and over — and note that if the newborn is in the booking too, the infant rate of $38/hr applies to the whole booking rather than per child.

A nanny placement if you already know you want ongoing help rather than occasional shifts. That is a different product: a one-time fee of $500 for placements under three months or $1,000 for three months or longer, and it runs on a longer timeline — profile reviewed within one business day, matched candidates typically within 7–10 business days.

The decisions to make before, not after

Decide whether you want nights, days, or both. They solve different problems. Days help you function; nights help you recover. Families who can only do one usually get more from nights.

Buy hours in advance if you are going to use them. Puffin's postpartum packages come in 20 and 40 hours, they are purchased ahead, and the hours never expire. That matters because the decision you are making now is under uncertainty — you do not know yet whether this baby sleeps. Hours that do not expire mean buying ahead is not a bet.

Sort ID verification before the birth. First-time in-home bookings need photo identification reviewed by an administrator before a caregiver is dispatched. It takes minutes. It is a miserable thing to discover on the day you need someone.

Have the phone number written down somewhere that is not your phone. (604) 283-2829.

What to tell whoever you book

Write it down while you are still sleeping properly:

A note on the 24-hour rule

Bookings need at least 24 hours' notice, and same-day is not available online. Babies do not schedule themselves, which is exactly why arranging support before the birth is worth the small effort it takes now.

Who turns up

Every Puffin caregiver is an employee of Puffin rather than a contractor, insured through Puffin, and has a clear police vulnerable sector check before their first shift. You are not the employer of someone working in your home, and you are not running payroll during the newborn weeks — which is worth something on its own. There is more in how Puffin vets every caregiver.