Twenty years of other people's babies, loved like her own.
Mother, night nurse, nanny, birth and postpartum doula. Yvonne is the person Cape Town mothers pass on to their friends, usually with the words "I don't know how we'd have survived without her."
A mother first. Then a mother to many.
Before the certificates and the night shifts, Yvonne was a girl in Zimbabwe who was always holding somebody's baby, and then a mum. She raised her own children, and over the years she has opened her home to other children too, folding them into her family as if they had always been there. Ask anyone who knows her: there is always room at Yvonne's table for one more little one.
Nothing makes her happier than a baby on her hip. She sings to them, reads to them, and gets down on the floor for tummy time. She notices the first real smile, the first roll, the first wobbly step, and she celebrates every one with the parents as if it were her own child's. Families notice that she doesn't only keep babies safe and fed. She helps them grow.
That's what she looks for in every nanny who joins Yvonne & Co.: people who light up around children, the way she does.
“There is nothing in the world like the light in a child's face when they discover something new. I get to see that every day.”
How Yvonne & Co. came to be.
Where it started
Yvonne grows up in Zimbabwe, finishing school there in 2001. She's the one the little cousins and neighbours' babies always end up with.
A new home
She moves to Cape Town and builds a life and a family here, and a reputation that travels from one mother to the next.
First Cape Town family
Starts as a full-time nanny to an 18-month-old boy, and keeps the house running too. The family keeps calling her for years.
Child nursing
Completes a three-month course at Mhlanga School of Nursing: first aid, child development, basic child care and nursing.
120 hours at Sarah Fox
Volunteers at Sarah Fox Children's Convalescent Hospital in Athlone. The matron calls her "a valuable asset to whatever project she applies herself to."
From nanny to night nurse
Her first family hires her back for their newborn, this time for the night shifts.
Twins, twice
Night nurse for two sets of newborn twins, three nights a week for their first six months.
Six weeks to seven months
A third set of twins, from six weeks old until they sleep through.
A family for the long run
Joins a family when their third baby is two weeks old: 4–5 nights a week, hospital stays, December holidays and all.
Birth doula
Qualifies as a birth companion (doula) with WOMBS, in partnership with Johnson & Johnson.
Infant CPR and postpartum doula
CPR for Children and Infants (Dynamikos, April) and postpartum doula (WOMBS, August).
Yvonne & Co.
More families are asking for Yvonne than she has nights. So she's introducing the nannies and cleaners she trusts.
Qualified, and still learning.
Child Nursing
Mhlanga SN School of Nursing. First aid, child development, basic child care and nursing (practical).
Birth Doula
WOMBS (Women Offering Mothers Birth Support) with Johnson & Johnson.
Postpartum Doula
WOMBS with Johnson & Johnson. Breastfeeding, recovery and newborn care.
CPR for Children & Infants
Dynamikos Training. Retraining due April 2027.
Hospital volunteer
120 hours at Sarah Fox Children's Convalescent Hospital.
What families notice
Calm, confident, culturally sensitive, discreet. Feeding, winding, bathing, settling, sleep routines.
Letters from families.
“Without Yvonne we often wonder how we would have survived!”
“She has a natural ability with babies and I never once saw her stressed or out of her depth.”
“Yvonne has been an absolute godsend to our family.”
“She was heaven sent. She has a very calming nature and my children adore her.”
“Her kindness, level of care, her unwavering warmth, and gentle nature have led to a beautiful nurturing relationship.”
“Reliable, hardworking, responsible and punctual at all times.”
