Natalie Akpele the owner of Cuddlebuggs, LLC would love to meet you. Are you interested in using finding a nanny or having a newborn care specialist the first few weeks your newborn is home? Come have a cup of coffee or tea with Natalie. This is the perfect chance to find out more about her and the business and how she can help you.

Bring your questions, your little ones and lets chat! She will be at Panera Bread in Loehmanns Plaza from 10 am to 11 am on Friday, May 15th.

We look forward to seeing you all there!

Best,

Cuddlebugggs, LLC

I am sad to announce that Cuddlebuggs, LLC will be discontinuing our babysitting club services as of April 30,2009. Requests for this service have dwindling over the last 6 months, which has brought us to discontinue it. If you have any questions at all about this about our services, please do not hesitate to email me at info at cuddlebuggs.com.

Best,

Natalie Akpele

Tags: babysitter, babysitting, Cuddlebuggs, discontinue

A Newborn Care Specialist is a person who cares for Newborns in clients homes for the first 3 months of life only.  This is a very specialized field and involves up to date education.  A Newborn Care Specialist will generally make between $18 and $35 an hour depending on the number of babies and their health.
Gentle Ventures is present a  is a one time class. The Newborn Care Specialist Association (www.ncsainfo.com) has approved this class for the certification of Newborn Care Specialist.
This is an extensive class for anyone in child care, Nannies, Doulas, RN, LPNs, Newborn Care Specialists, Midwives, anyone who is a child care provider OR those wishing to become Newborn Care Specialists without child care experience. This is a hands on class and we will teach you baby basics along with everything between the ages of 0 and 12 weeks.

THIS CLASS WILL FILL UP FAST AND IT IS OFFERED ON A FIRST COME BASIS!!!

APRIL 24 – 26 2009

$400 plus manual before April 1

$450 plus manual after April 1, 2009

This class will fill up fast.

April 24 Friday 7pm – 10pm

April 25 Saturday 9 am – 5 pm

April 26 Sunday 9 am – 5 pm

call to reserve your spot

$100 Deposit due by the April 1, 2009. This class includes Certification of Completion used to apply through the NCSA for certification. Deposit to be deducted from the total class fee.

Manual extra $50

Deposit of $100 hold your place in the class. This is a non-refundable deposit. You can use it for the next class if necessary. Minimum class 10. Maximum class 15

Late reservations will be an additional $50 (Not accepted after April 15)

This is a hands on class. We will teach everything you need to know about newborn care.

This is a limited class. Classes are generally full so sign up early.

Visa, Master Card, Discover, Money Order, Cash or Check

Call for your reservation 678-528-7933 or email Natalie  at  info @ cuddlebuggs.com for more information.

Tags: baby nurse, infant care, newborn, newborn care specialist

When I first graduated from Ga Southern University back in 2001, the thought of an interview scared me to death.  It was the last thing I wanted to do. I hoped and prayed that I would be able to “wow” my potential employer with my credentials to land myself the job…. Of course, it did not happen that way.  I suffered through my interview not really knowing what I was doing.  To make matters worst, it was a group interview. You know…now that I look back at it, it’s probably what saved me from bombing completely. Once it was over, I hoped that my personality, experience, education was what it took to land the job.  Luckily, it was!  I was now an Infant preschool teacher…  I tell you all of this because at the time, I had no idea how important that interview really was.  All I knew was that being the interviewee was not something I was interested in…

Now, fast forward a few years to November 2007, when I created Cuddlebuggs .  I began interviewing potential candidates for families who had hired me on to locate nannies for their family’s specific needs.  I found myself in a very different position.  I had become the interviewer… What a difference that was!  Things had changed for me.  I realized quickly that these interviews did not have to be as painful as I once thought them to be.  They could be very pleasant and informative sessions.  The more comfortable I made them , the easier they were to conduct.  Which brings me to my question of the week.

How important is the interview to you?

This question came to me because of a conversation I had with an applicant who recently took a position with a family without an interview first.  She began the job on Monday and quit the same day.  I was shocked… so I asked her what had happened.  She said that family’s situation wasn’t something she could handle….  It was just way too stressful for her.  Probing a bit more, I asked ” didn’t you interview with family before hand?”  Her answer surprised me a bit.  She said ” No”.   She stated that they had several interviews scheduled but they all had either been rescheduled or canceled due to scheduling conflicts with the family.  She decided to take the position anyway.  But by the end of the day, she was calling the agency to let them know that she would not be able to continue with the family.  Had this applicant interviewed with the family prior to the start date of this job, I venture to say that she probably would not have taken the job.

I can not stress enough how IMPORTANT the interview process is.  It’s the key to any successful in-home or out child care placement.  Whether it be for a nanny, newborn care specialist or housekeeper.  Interviews are essential for both the family and the candidate seeking employment.

If you would like more information on how to conduct a successful interview, please do not hesitate to ask me how I conduct my interviews.

Best,

Natalie Akpele
Owner, Cuddlebuggs,LLC

Tags: family interview, GA Southern University, infants, interview, nanny applicants

How do you like it?  Well, I have to say that I love it.  It’s starting to feel like home.  I decided yesterday that both my website and blog needs a nice NEW look.  I didn’t change much – just a tweak here and there in the background color, board color and text color.  It took about 2 hours but when it was all said and done… well we have this lovely new site.

I would LOVE to hear what you my readers think of all the changes.  Please feel free to comment or email me at info at cuddlebuggs dot com or in the comments box below.

Best,

Natalie Akpele

@Cuddlebuggs

Tags: blog, new site, website