Fatou L.

We were not new to parenting when we first met Adja back in September of 2019. We had recently had our third child, and between two elementary school children and a newborn, we found ourselves in need of extra help, but unclear of what we wanted. Talking with a friend, she recommended that I explore the night-nanny option, which I had not heard of before. As a working mother, we have always relied on amazing child care and day care providers, but had never hired a night nanny or newborn care specialist. Knowing what I know now, I wish I had Adja’s help when my first two were newborns! I posted a position on Sittercity.com hoping to find someone who was interested in nighttime care. When I spoke with Adja on the phone for the first time, I immediately had a good feeling-- she was calm, soothing and It was clear that she had done this for many other couples and was both professional but caring. Speaking with her gave me confidence that she could help us get more rest and help my son sleep better. We hired her after speaking with a couple references all of which said it was the best thing for their family. We started with two nights a week and then moved to four nights as we realized how much of a difference her presence made in our ability to function as I went back to work. My son was born about 6 weeks premature and so I was a little more nervous with him, despite the fact that he was nearly 1.5 months old when Adja started. With Adja, I not only got a caring and empathic caregiver for my son, but also found someone who could help adjust to his changes over time and could help me find new ways to help him with his post-eating gas. Adja had great suggestions for how to make the baby more comfortable, how to help him develop a routine for sleeping, and most importantly gave me confidence that she would do her best to care for my son as I would. Over these months, my son eventually grew out of the newborn gassiness and learned to sleep for longer stretches with minimal crying. She would give him a baby massage to help him relax and he would get into a deep sleep. My son is now a great sleeper and we have Adja to thank for keeping us on track with his routine, teaching us tricks to get him to sleep, and strategizing with me on how to keep him asleep.