A nurse with relevant newborn experience
Matched, where possible, to a nurse with neonatal experience rather than whoever is next on the list.
Preemie And NICU Care
In-Home Care for Preemies and NICU Babies in Birmingham, AL
Coming home from the NICU is its own kind of hard. A licensed pediatric RN with neonatal experience in your home, overnight or during the day, while you learn your baby's patterns without the constant reassurance of the hospital.
- 8 to 10 hours overnight Typical shift
- RNs with NICU or pediatric experience Who provides it
- Prematurity, feeding plans, coming home Common reasons
- Before discharge where possible Booking window
What is in-home preemie and NICU baby care?
In-home preemie care is private-pay daytime or overnight newborn support for premature babies and other newborns who have recently been discharged from a neonatal intensive care unit. A nurse with neonatal or pediatric experience provides feeding, settling, and safe sleep care while watching feeding tolerance, breathing, and settling, documents what she sees, and helps parents follow the discharge plan their NICU team set. Families may also hear this called NICU graduate care or post-NICU newborn support.
What's Included
What this service covers
Swipe through what a shift includes, or call and we will walk you through what fits your family.
Following your discharge plan
Your NICU team set a plan. Your nurse works to it, rather than to a generic newborn routine.
Feeding that takes longer
Fortified feeds, slower feeds, paced bottles, and the patience a NICU graduate feed often needs.
Reflux and settling
Following the positioning, feed timing, and settling instructions your medical team provided for a baby who is uncomfortable after feeds.
Watching the things you were told to watch
Feeding tolerance, breathing, skin color, and alertness, documented so you have a record between appointments.
The first nights at home
Coming off the monitors is frightening. Having an experienced pediatric nurse awake and attentive can be a real source of reassurance through the first nights.
In Practice
What a typical shift looks like
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At arrival
- Review the NICU discharge instructions together
- Go over feeding volumes, fortification, and timing
- Review any home equipment in the discharge plan, and confirm what you manage and what sits outside your nurse's role
- Agree what should prompt waking you
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Through the night
- Feeds at the intervals your team specified
- Positioning and settling for reflux where relevant
- Recording feeds and intake, wet diapers, bowel movements, and sleep
- Observing feeding tolerance, breathing, skin color, and alertness
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In the morning
- A written record you can take to appointments
- Anything worth raising with your pediatrician
- Time to ask the questions that came up overnight
Your Nurse
Who we send into your home
You are letting someone into your home. Here is what stands behind the person who arrives.
- An active Alabama RN license
- Current, in good standing, and recorded before a nurse is assigned to your family.
- Pediatric or postpartum experience
- NICU, pediatrics, postpartum, labor and delivery, or pediatric urgent care. Not general childcare.
- Current certifications on file
- Applicable credentials, which may include BLS, PALS, and NRP, are recorded at onboarding, along with years of clinical experience.
- Led by a pediatric nurse practitioner
- Leslie Brewer, CRNP, leads the clinical policies, nurse onboarding, and family support approach the team works to.
- Matched to your family, not just to the calendar
- Matched on your feeding plan and schedule, not on whoever happens to be free.
- A calm presence at 3 a.m.
- Your nurse may be the only healthcare professional physically present overnight, so calm judgment, clear boundaries, and timely escalation matter as much as a resume.
Who This Is For
Why NICU families call us
Bringing a preemie or a NICU graduate home is a different kind of first week. These are the reasons families reach out.
Your baby was born prematurely
Preemies often feed more slowly, tire faster, and need more patience per feed than a term newborn. That is exhausting at 2 a.m. when you are doing it alone.
The discharge plan feels like a lot
Volumes, intervals, fortification, positioning. Having someone in the house who has worked to plans like this before makes the first nights less daunting.
Feeding is taking a long time
Fortified and paced feeds are slow work. Families who want more hands-on help with feeding itself can also explore newborn feeding support.
You feel uneasy without the monitors
Weeks of alarms and numbers, then silence. That adjustment is one of the most common things NICU parents describe.
You need ongoing nights, not just the first few
Once the transition settles, many families move to regular overnight newborn care.
You are recovering too
A long hospital stay is hard on the parent as well. Overnight help can form part of a broader postpartum recovery support plan.
Scope
Working alongside your medical team
Your NICU team set the plan. Your nurse works to it. This is private-pay newborn support: it is not medically ordered home health, private-duty nursing, or a substitute for your baby's NICU follow-up team. Here is what she handles, and what stays with your medical team.
Included in every shift
- Overnight or daytime shifts in your home
- Feeding to the plan your NICU team set
- Following the positioning and settling instructions from your medical team
- Safe sleep setup and attentive care through the shift
- A written record of feeds and intake, wet diapers, bowel movements, and sleep
- Documenting observable changes, and helping you understand when to contact your pediatrician or NICU follow-up team
Not included
- Medical treatment or medication administration. Telehealth visits are available for Alabama families
- Operating or interpreting home medical equipment
- Changing feeding volumes or fortification. Those decisions stay with your medical team
- Emergency medical care. Call 911 or seek immediate care
Need help with something else? See our other services.
How It Works
Getting started
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01
Tell us about your baby
Gestational age, how long the NICU stay was, what the discharge plan says, and what worries you most about the first weeks at home.
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02
We reply with availability
Within 24 to 48 business hours, with availability and a quote. Reach out before discharge if you can.
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03
We match you with a nurse
Matched, where possible, to a nurse with neonatal experience and comfort with your baby's specific needs.
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04
Your first night
Your nurse arrives before bedtime, you walk through the discharge plan together, and then you sleep.
Pricing
What it costs
Pricing depends on the length of your shifts, how many days or nights per week you need, and whether you have multiples. Tell us your dates and we will send a clear quote with no pressure to book.
Check Availability and PricingWhere We Work
Serving Birmingham and surrounding areas
On Call Peds Care provides in-home NICU graduate support across the Birmingham metropolitan area. Availability and any travel arrangements depend on your location and the nights you need.
- Birmingham
- Hoover
- Vestavia Hills
- Mountain Brook
- Homewood
- Helena
- Trussville
- Chelsea
Questions
Common questions about this service
When should I book, before or after discharge?
Before, if you can. Discharge dates move, but reaching out while you are still in the NICU gives us the best chance of matching you with a nurse who has neonatal experience for the nights you need.
Can the nurse manage oxygen, monitors, or a feeding tube?
No. Your nurse provides routine newborn care around equipment that you are already managing, but she does not change settings, interpret readings, troubleshoot devices, or replace the training your medical team gave you. If your baby came home with equipment, tell us when you inquire so we can be clear about what we can and cannot do before anything is booked.
My baby has reflux. Is that something you handle?
Yes, and it is one of the most common reasons NICU families call. Your nurse follows the reflux-related feeding and settling instructions given at discharge. Any change to feeding volume, fortification, medication, or positioning stays with your pediatrician or NICU follow-up team.
Will the nurse know what to do if something changes?
Pediatric RNs are trained to recognize changes in feeding, breathing, color, and alertness, and to escalate. In-home nursing care does not replace emergency care or your pediatrician, and your nurse will tell you plainly when something needs them.
Does the nurse stay awake all night?
Yes. This is an awake overnight shift. Your nurse is up with your baby through the night, which is the whole point when you have just come home and are afraid to sleep.
Can the nurse give medication?
No. Medication administration sits outside the scope of in-home newborn care, including anything prescribed at discharge. Your nurse can tell you what she has observed, but dosing stays with you and your medical team.
Can you care for premature twins?
Yes, and multiples after a NICU stay are a common reason families call. Tell us when you inquire, because it affects both the nurse we match you with and the quote.
Can the nurse change feeding volumes or fortification?
No. Those decisions belong to your pediatrician or NICU follow-up team. Your nurse feeds to the plan you were given and records what actually happened, so you have something concrete to take to the next appointment.
How long do NICU families usually book for?
It varies widely. Some book heavily for the first two or three weeks home and taper, others keep a couple of nights a week for months. We will talk through what actually fits.
Keep Exploring
Related care and reading
Clinically reviewed
Leslie Brewer, CRNP
Pediatric nurse practitioner with over ten years in acute pediatric care, pediatric primary care, and family urgent care. Founder of On Call Peds Care and a mother of five.
Last reviewed July 2026
This page explains the services we provide. It is not medical advice and does not replace guidance from your child's pediatrician. Read more about Leslie.
Guidance referenced
What Families Say
Reviews
“Having a reflux baby made nights so hard and left me exhausted and unsure how to help. Bringing in a nurse was such a gift. She helped us get our girl comfortable, reset, and start learning to self-soothe. So grateful for the support of an RN and NP who helped us create a plan.”
Bringing your baby home?
Tell us your baby's gestational age, their age now, the discharge date if you have one, and whether you are thinking about daytime or overnight support.