b'referredtoasnightnannies,nightnurses,ormost care specialists have proper training and experience.commonly,babynurses.Inthe2000s,however,manynursesbegantolobbyforandsuccessfullyhelpedenact In todays market, having these two things can mean thelegislation that made it illegal to refer to yourself as a nurse differencebetweengettinghiredornot,especiallywhenunless you held nursing credentials.many agencies are now requiring training, sometimes from aspecific training program, to even apply as a newborn careAs a result of this new legislation, it became necessary for specialist with their agency. newborn caregivers to find a new name. In 2007, a group ofcaregivers working in this niche, who were also members of Even for nannies with no desire to become newborn caretheInternationalNannyAssociation(INA),proposedthe specialists, this training can still be beneficial. In addition tonamenewborncarespecialist,whichwasofficially helping nannies stand out in their job search, especially ifadoptedbyINA.Overtime,standardsofexcellenceand they dont have recent newborn or young infant experience,professionalism began to emerge, industry practices arose, andincreasingtheirearningpotential,nannieswhoandnewborncarespecialistswererecognizedand completenewborncarespecialisttraininggenerallyhavewelcomedintheirownrightundertheumbrellaofINA. solid sleep, feeding, and medical condition knowledge, andToday, the role of a newborn care specialist has evolved have learned how to work with new parents successfully.from a vocational one to a professional one.Parents also feel more confident when hiring a nanny whoButevenwiththesedevelopments,therolesand has newborn care specialist training. And with good reasonexpectationsofanewborncarespecialistwerenot while a three-month-old baby (the age when many nanniesuniversally understood. Through e-mail communications and start caring for infants) is still very small, infants look, feel,social media, those doing this work came together to create andbehaveverydifferentlythannewborns.Acaregivera general consensus of what the role of a newborn care having a solid, confident knowledge of what a newborn looksspecialist should be. Today, those working as newborn care likeandwhatnormalnewbornbehaviorsareiscriticallyspecialists can look to INA for standards of professionalism important to providing good care.and credentialing exams. Newborn care specialists also nowhave access to training options ranging from introductory By the time a newborn care specialist leaves a family, oftencourses to the exclusive trademarked Master NCS program the baby is sleeping through the night (or close to it) and theoffered through our company, Newborn Care Solutions. For parentsarefeelingrested,confident,andsecureintheirthose seeking international recognition, CACHE International ability to care for their baby. A quality trained newborn carenowoffersatruethird-partyoversightcertificationfor specialist brings a sense of calm confidence to a familyandnewborncarespecialists.Asmoreandmoreparents a much more peaceful start to their life together.become aware of newborn care specialists, the demand fornewborn care continues to grow.While no one can predict the future of this niche within thechildcareindustry,inthelastseveralyears,ithasgainedWhile individuals enter this profession in a multitude of ways, significantmomentumasaviableandindemandcareerparents and agencies are starting to demand that newbornoption. TONYA SAKOWICZTonya Sakowicz is an INA Credentialed Nanny, newborn care specialist, postpartum doula, andparent educator. Along with her husband, Todd, Tonya founded Newborn Care Solutions, acompanythattrainshigh-levelnewborncarespecialistsandexclusivelyofferstheMasterNCStrainingprogram.Tonyahasservedasco-presidentoftheInternationalNannyAssociation, Scottsdale Chapter President for the Domestic Estate Management Association,and was voted the Professional Childcare Provider of the Year in 2003. Tonya has received theDomesticEstateManagementAssociationEducatoroftheYear,theDomesticEstateManagement Association Lifetime Achievement Award, and was an INA Nanny of the Yearnominee and a National Association of Nannies Harriette Grant Memorial Award nominee.Tonya is called on to be a speaker at nanny and newborn care training events across thecountry and has been featured on television and in print, where she most notably made anappearance on the Today Show. NannyMag.com37'