George & Amal Clooney do have a night nurse & a house full of ‘staffers’

George Clooney, Amal Clooney at the Cesar Awards in Paris

Little Sasha and Ella Clooney are in the world. They are probably napping or crying as we speak. George and Amal Clooney did the whole birth thing pretty quietly, which I appreciate. There was no countdown clock or constant updating from George or Amal. They just checked into their posh hospital suite and got it done, released a statement and boom. I would imagine they are enjoying their time together as a family at their English country home. Before Amal gave birth, “sources” insisted to E! News that Amal and George wouldn’t hire a full-time nanny or a live-in nanny. And all of you moms (especially moms of multiples) were like, “Yeah, we’ll see how long that lasts.” It didn’t last. According to E!, Amal and George already have a night nurse. Some highlights from this excessive E! story.

They spent three days at the hospital: The family of four spent “a little over three days” at the hospital before heading to their home in England, where they have been joined by their nearest and dearest, such as Amal’s sister Tala Alamuddin. “It was a longer birth than expected but the babies are healthy and beautiful,” the source said. “They were able to keep a low profile at the hospital and even have family and friends visit. They’re elated. I don’t think you’ve ever seen a happier pair. There’s a positive energy in the house and everyone around them, including all staff, who are in great spirits too.”

George and Amal are already naturals: “You’d think that twins would be overwhelming for anyone but they seem to have taken to this like ducks to water, all in their stride,” the source continued. “They’re both attentive, warm, loving parents. You could see that even in the run up to having the kids…even months ago, in the way George would fuss and fret over making sure security at the house was safe and the nursery was perfect.”

The night nurse: The source said the couple has hired for eight weeks a night nurse who is helping to set a sleeping schedule for the twins. George’s dad had said the actor will be hands on when it comes to diaper duty, saying on Good Morning Britain, “And he will do it with humor and with joy.”

[From E! News]

I find this suspicious: “There’s a positive energy in the house and everyone around them, including all staff, who are in great spirits too.” Granted, I’ve seen the photos of their country pile and it’s quite large, so I’m sure they need full-time staff just for the upkeep on the property. But I bet they also have many, many helpers beyond just one night nurse for eight weeks. And if you think George is mucking around with diaper changes on the reg, then you are mistaken. Also: I believe Amal’s family has probably taken over the house completely.

Amal Clooney and her mother Baria Alamuddin are spotted leaving Villandry restaurant

Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News.

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65 Responses to “George & Amal Clooney do have a night nurse & a house full of ‘staffers’”

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  1. Laura says:

    Should I be surprised? If they can afford it, good for them.

    • Bread and Circuses says:

      Seriously; I don’t know any parents who — if money was no option — wouldn’t try to make those first few sleepless months a bit easier to function through.

      Friends of mine had twins on their first pregnancy, and they basically dropped off the face of the Earth for two years. They just couldn’t manage a social life also.

      • Step says:

        My first were also twins! It was do-able but horrible, especially because my husband was out a lot with his friends (running away from the stress) so I felt like a single mother. My parents live in another country so if I had the money, I’d have definitely gotten a night nurse and whatever else! Oh, to be rich…

  2. JenB says:

    I say good for them. Why would anyone with their means not want to hire some help? It doesn’t mean they’re not involved with the babies.

    • Erinn says:

      I have absolutely no shade for night nurses. I’ll throw some shade to the parents that really don’t bother with their kids – day or night – but if you’re able to afford some help to get through the nights – 100% go for it. I would in a heartbeat – even 5/7 nights a week would be amazing.

    • Lucy says:

      I wouldn’t have survived without help. We had a cleaning lady and a nanny help us and my husband was off for 3 months, we also hired a meal delivery service for all our meals for the first 3 months as well and we were still exhausted and barely functioning. Cudos to the parents that do it all on their own.

      • kaiko says:

        wow, why were you both so exhausted?? did you have triplets or quads?

      • Lucy says:

        No we had 1 but I could do very little as I had complications and had 4 surgeries within the first 3 months and my husband was home but still had to run his business during this time.

      • nic919 says:

        My friend barely slept during the first few months after her first was born because she had this fear of sudden death syndrome and the fact she was feeding him every few hours. I say get all the help you can afford. No need to be a martyr.

      • Justjj says:

        Yup. Did it all with no help. Still do it all with no help. It’s really not that bad? But that first week when you’re milk is coming in is pretty terrible. And your hormones are nuts. I would have liked a night nurse for dire mayday situations but the early days with your baby and that bond and trust is so important and there’s so much awe and sweetness. I would have loved a chef, cleaning staff, live in lactation consultant, and postpartum doula 24/7 the first three months, just not necessarily a night nurse.

    • Sabrine says:

      Good for them. I’d do exactly the same thing if I had the money. Why the heck not.

  3. NotSoSocialButterfly says:

    Mom of twins here, and good for them that they have nighttime help. Who could begrudge them that? I would have appreciated a night nurse. Infancy can be a blur with nursing, especially with multiples or even a singleton who does not sleep well (lol, our first child). It really is an exhausting time.

    Also, I love the patterned shoes in the photo with orange dress/camel coat.

  4. Megan says:

    I’m half Lebanese and if Amal’s family has taken over the house I’d say she and George are extremely lucky. My aunties know how to get sh&t done!

    • JUstBitchy says:

      This *1000

    • sarah says:

      I’m not Lebanese but I thought the same thing. Mature older women in the family will be able to get this done without drama. Good for them for helping out.

  5. SM says:

    Yes, to each their own. While I can’t imagine sleeping with someone else (basically a stranger) feeds my infant, I say if they can hire help and that is their choice, I am not judging. What I have a problem with is this: You’d think that twins would be overwhelming for anyone but they seem to have taken to this like ducks to water, all in their stride,” the source continued. “They’re both attentive, warm, loving parents. You could see that even in the run up to having the kids…even months ago, in the way George would fuss and fret over making sure security at the house was safe and the nursery was perfect.” yes, sure, most new parents would be natural if they had help firuging out how to deal with first child and would be in great spirits also if they had an army of staff at home to tend to kids, housekeeping and meals. So this whole message was designed as a PR strategy to promte themselves as the best parents ever. Why these privileged hollywood types never bother to give credit to average parents all over the world rather than use their babies as self promotion strategy.

  6. VSK says:

    Having a night nurse must be wonderful, but I cannot imagine how she would possibly set up a sleep schedule for newborns. The earliest you can even think about of doing any kind of sleep training is at least 4 months old. I WISH I could have a night nurse when my kids were tiny, it would have been incredible. Nothing is worse than sleep deprivation.

    • hmmm says:

      Side eye on the “sleep schedule”. WTH is that??? I’m guessing it’s their professional sounding excuse for not wanting to have to get up in the night to feed the babes.

      • LT says:

        Uh, no. You don’t sleep train newborns. Not recommmeded.

      • Liv says:

        Its clearly either a made up story or a childless publicist written release. No need to get worked up over a throwaway phrase thats probably just filler. Also, NO PARENT enjoys the back and forth nights that come with not just one but two newborns. I was lucky to have my husband and SIL take over the night shift for my twins which allowed me to be the best mum I could be for the remaining 16 hours. Good for Amal for understanding her limitations and bringing in help. An exhausted cranky mother is a bad mother.

      • NotSoSocialButterfly says:

        I think it is code for night feedings/diaper changes/resettling.

      • Polkasox says:

        Mom of twins here. Getting mine on the same schedule was essential for my sanity. There are sleep “training” books for infant twins that involve getting them on the same schedule so they’re ready to eat at the same time (otherwise you’re feeding one, put them down, the other one wakes up. Repeat x1000) so there actually IS importance in getting twins on a schedule. Any NICU twin mom would tell you their kids are on a strict schedule you can count on, which the nurses have “trained” them on.

    • M4lificent says:

      I’m with Liv — I think it’s filler text written by someone who doesn’t know anything about babies. If the purpose of the night nurse was sleep training — you would bring her in later. Newborns, especially babies likely born a bit early, need to feed on demand. But more power to them for getting a night nanny with twins. And double ditto for the aunties and grandmas.

    • Notafan says:

      When we had our twins the sleep schedule basically meant waking them up and feeding them both at the same time, regardless of who was actually hungry. It worked quite well. I also included our adult mealtimes and showering, pumping, etc since all that needed to be coordinated and work around the feeding. We didn’t sleep train until six months and even that was sleep training lite.

      • Polkasox says:

        You don’t feed twins on demand unless you never want to sleep again. You feed them on the same schedule.

  7. CynicalAnn says:

    As they should. You don’t get a prize for suffering. Family, staff-whatever it takes to make a happy home.

  8. Clare says:

    If I had that kind of money (and busy lawyering job) I’d have a house full of help, too!

  9. Juniper says:

    Even in their first statement, I thought they fully admitted they’d have a night nurse – just not a live-in nanny.

  10. Lafawnda says:

    If I had the resources to move my family in, have a baby nurse and a full staff I would do it in a heartbeat. Especially if I had twins. Good for them! No shade here.

  11. QueenB says:

    I cant not imagine George Clooney as a father in any shape or form. Not even the not involved kind of dad. Just nothing.

    • Velvet Elvis says:

      haha…me either. I’m over here chuckling because George made it clear for decades that he had zero desire to have children.

    • Bachelorpod says:

      Marriage and parenthood haven’t done him any favors in the looks department. He’s aged 30 years.

  12. KBeth says:

    Sleep deprivation is brutal, take all the help you can get.

  13. Nimbolicious says:

    More inane pablum for a public they and their publicists think is adoring. These two narcissistic idiots shot their wad long ago with the rollout and then that ridiculous wedding. I wish they’d shuddup about their unicorn excellence and just quietly bestow all that purported “positive energy” on their props/accessories/kids/whatever.

    • Lime says:

      I agree with Nimbolicious. Also there’s how George tries to front as the highest form of political liberalism. He lives an extremely luxurious lifestyle and flaunts it (along with designer addict wife) and does the odd charity donation or speech and then expects people to listen to him as some sort of authority figure? Never anything said about income inequality. He’s a cultural liberal but not an economic one, which means he’s just a limo liberal.

      No thanks. He should happily live his luxurious life quietly – and nothing wrong with enjoying it – but don’t be so clueless in inflicting public relations damage on true liberals in the form of limo liberalism.

      • Bachelorpod says:

        What do you expect wealthy progressives to do? Give all their money to wankers like you? Maybe you should be asking Trump for that. Please wake up and join the real world.

      • lime says:

        The point is George and Amal are bad PR for liberalism, in an era when the left can’t afford to lose a single vote, and not that they shouldn’t spend their money as they like or should give it all away. The point about trump is even more ridiculous considering his regressive tax policies. Looks like you’re the one lacking grounding in reality or more specifically the economics context.

  14. Alexandria says:

    How is this news…they’re not funded by taxpayers.

  15. Joannie says:

    Oh what a surprise! Not that i blame them.

  16. Mia4s says:

    Good for them, the more help the better. Why not?

    I do get grossed out by the constant flow of Hollywood gossip that makes it seem like we should worship those who don’t hire a nanny or whatever. You can be an awful parent raising your kid full time and you can be a terrific parent if you have a nanny (and a housekeeper, and a cook). Often times if you listen carefully to the language used it’s a lie anyway or at least an omission. I mean…Jennifer “Good Housekeeping” Garner uses nannies. GOOP apparently gave nanny duties to her assistants so she could say she didn’t have a nanny. And also even when there is no nanny it’s a hell of a lot easier to be focused constantly on your kids when you have staff to handle all the cooking, cleaning, errands etc. There should be no admiration or awe offered to any of these Stars for child rearing, it’s just silly.

  17. thaisajs says:

    Yeah, it’s all fun and games for the first week while the babies sleep most of the day. It starts getting real in week two or three when they stop that and start crying more. I don’t believe for 5 sec. that Clooney is changing any diapers or doing anything other than maybe watching SportsCenter on the couch.

  18. Sue says:

    The reason there were no pictures of them coming in or out of the hospital – or in the hospital, was because Amal had a surrogate. That’s also the reason there were no pictures of Amal, for the last three months, even though she is very pap hungry. There are always paparazzi surrounding celebrities – esp. around births, weddings. Yet, no pictures. I don’t know why they just didn’t tell the truth. There’s no shame in having a surrogate. I guess they want to keep the fairy tale of the perfect life going.

    • Lily says:

      Why would you expect to see pictures of them at the hospital? It’s not the norm for celebrities to be pictured entering or leaving a hospital (or in the hospital) when they’re having a baby (or babies), no matter pap hungry they might be. Most people want some privacy at that time. And, sure, the Clooneys like the paps, but it’s not a 24/7 thing with them; I would have been very surprised to see pictures of them at the hospital.

    • CynicalAnn says:

      She looked pregnant when we saw her a few months ago-not just her stomach but the rest of her too.

    • siri says:

      Only proves that if you don’t want to be photographed, you won’t be. So they CAN stop the paps, and there’s no reason to think they catch Amal or George accidentially anymore. We all don’t know for sure whether or not they had a surrogate, but it’s my suspicion as well. IVF and surrogate.

    • Ange says:

      I am so tired of these constant stories that celebrities fake pregnancies. For goodness sake give it a rest, it’s the new ‘every male celebrity is gay!’

  19. aang says:

    I was lucky enough to be a stay at home mom so I had no problem with night feedings. And I wouldn’t have traded that time for anything. It passes so quickly. The idea of a stranger feeding or diapering my new born makes me sad. But that is just me, and I think everyone should do what is right for them. Also I was 25 not 40 something so I still had lots of energy. Women who return to work soon after birth, or who are older, or who have multiples, are very lucky if they can afford help.

    • Parigo says:

      I was an older mom who knew I probably wouldn’t have a second. I had the luxury to take time off and wanted to do EVERYTHING myself.
      Like you said, every mom and her situation is different.

  20. Rae says:

    No issues here; I am working hard to put myself in the position that I can afford help when I have children (or if I have children, as I’m not getting younger).

    As for training the newborns; again, nothing uncommon here and the purpose of a night nurse. They will get mum, dad, and the babies into a comfortable routine. There’s nothing to be worked up/offended over.

    As I have PCOS, so the chances of me having multiples is increased by the fact that I will likely have to have IVF and my age also adds to it. So I’m planning for a worst case scenario thing; I want to be able to have enough aside for a night nurse for the first week or so at least, and be able to fund additional help such as a nanny/housekeeper.

    I make no apologies for that, nor does it make me any less of a parent for wanting to make my life easier! I can’t hold it against any celebrities who have staff to help.

    My sister was quite pious whilst she was pregnant, going on about how she didn’t want anyone else being mummy to her son, etc. Fast forward to after my nephew is born and she would have killed for a nanny/nightnurse.

  21. Disco Dancer says:

    Why bother having kids if you can’t be bothered to do the hard work of looking after them, like night feedings?

    • CynicalAnn says:

      Seriously? Two babies?! Parenting is all hard work-and outsourcing parts of it doesn’t make you a bad parent.

      • Polkasox says:

        @discodancer – how many sets of twins have you raised? It’s freaking HARD. I 1000% would’ve hired a night nurse if I could’ve afforded it. Throwing in another infant doesn’t just double the work, ask anyone who has twins or more.

    • Notafan says:

      Ummm. My twins woke every two hours for the first eight months. I went back to my very busy full time job at three months. I am a devoted and loving mom and put in the hard work but if I could have had a night nanny instead of having me and my husband walk around like zombies I would have done it. Getting more sleep means you actually remember the sweet months of infancy.

  22. Escaped Convent says:

    It’s a little hard to believe that George is going to do any diapering, let alone diaper duty “with humor and joy.” I recall seeing him interviewed and asked about babies, and he said that he liked his friends’ babies just fine, but he really liked handing babies back to their parents as soon as something happens in the diapers.

    • CynicalAnn says:

      I have a passel of children-diaper duty wasn’t my favorite but of course I did it. I HATE changing other kids’ diapers-ewwww.

  23. Goldenretriever says:

    I don’t think that they had a surrogate. I think that it’s probably vanity on Amals part – she is excessive and obsessive around her appearance. I think she struggles with an eating disorder (takes one to know one) and I think that probably meant a very low profile or she was on bed rest or I could be entirely reading far too much in it and I don’t actually care – it’s the middle of the night in NZ and this is the only thread that interests.

    • Lily says:

      That’s what I’ve thought all along – people were assuming that she used a surrogate because she seemed so skinny for someone who was pregnant with twins, and then we didn’t see her during her third trimester. But it had long seemed evident to me that she almost has some kind of an eating disorder, and gaining weight during her pregnancy was perhaps difficult for her to deal with. She seemed to be putting on weight normally at first, but then started to slow down (that seems to be when the surrogacy comments really got started), and then she went off the radar during her third trimester. I suspect she just didn’t feel comfortable having everyone see her put on a lot of weight, so she just laid low.

    • Lime says:

      I agree she was in hiding because she’s vain about “looking fat” and not because they used a surrogate. I think she’ll be hidden until she loses all the baby weight.

  24. AmandaPanda says:

    Having a night nurse and doing night feedings aren’t mutually exclusive. I had one for 8 weeks and I breastfed my son – the night nurse just brought him to me to feed. She did all the nappy changing and resettling around the feeds. It meant I got 2.5-3 hours in between feeds rather than 1-1.5 hours (which is what happens by the time you get woken up, have a couple of nappy changes, have to resettle the baby etc). Sure I could have got a full nights sleep if I’d formula fed him, but even with breastfeeding I found the nurse was a lifesaver and I would pay for it again in a second.

    • CynicalAnn says:

      I had a night nurse a few times and it was a lifesaver. I had trouble with nursing so I would nurse and then pump to increase my supply and I would be up around the clock trying to do it. Ugh-I don’t care who you are-the first few months are rough-and the more help the better, imo. Your real parenting skills are put to the test later when your kid is 8 and gets left out from a party, or your teen fails their driving test or breaks up with their boyfriend-or your kid has learning disabilities and you have to advocate for them. Changing their diapers or being up with them in the middle of the night when they’re 8 weeks old is not the end all be all of parenting.

  25. weegie warrior says:

    why not have all th help u can afford? having babies is such an emotional rollercoaster – wonderful but terrifying at th same time – n I think its luvly that th family have all gathered round too – I wish them all th best.

  26. Lime says:

    Very publicity hungry family, including George. I have a bad feeling we’ll be seeing Ella and Alex trotted out in designer gear very often for pap walks and get even more detailed updates about their perfect poops and how they’re speaking five languages at the age of five.

  27. Nimbolicious says:

    Why the shade? I don’t remember signing a Pollyanna Clause when I joined this site. Lighten up!

  28. Mannori says:

    staffers? you mean underpaid young people who get to work for them and they have to thank them for the opportunity of having a stint as a Clooney staffer on their resume?

  29. LaMaitresse says:

    Neither one of them is “young”, and twins, my concept of hell on earth. I’d have a dedicated team of nannies and night nurses for them. When my friend had her twins, she already had an 18 month old child, she had a live in nanny, and a night nurse for six months to help her out, and she was still worn out. It’s a huge amount of work!