Days or Nights with kids?

[ChristineN, BSN, RN]

So I have a question for those of you that work in the hospital setting doing 12 hr shifts with small children at home. Do you find it is easier to juggle kids while working days or nights? I am going to start trying to get pregnant this year, and if all goes as well have a child next year. I have the opportunity at work to work either straight days or straight nights, but am unsure which will be easier with a child. I need to decide soon, which I know seems early, but work doesn't offer this sort of opportunity very often. My partner works a typical 9-5 job if that matters.

[klone, MSN, RN]

I think for the vast majority of people, natural circadian rhythms dictate that working days works best. I'm thinking in terms of breastfeeding, sleep, mental health, etc.

[ChristineN, BSN, RN]

I think for the vast majority of people, natural circadian rhythms dictate that working days works best. I'm thinking in terms of breastfeeding, sleep, mental health, etc.

I agree but the reason I am torn is night shift makes more and my partner and I could pass the kid back and forth to avoid day care. Downside is I worry I would be a zombie

[mommycruz3]

If you have the option, I'd choose days. If not, you and your partner will never be together and having one parent doing the work is hard during the day, and the other during the night. Don't chose nights just because of daycare. ... they learn , play with other kids, and it helps them learn how to share. Plus, you want your child to see both parents together. Just my opinion :)

[HikingEDRN, BSN, RN]

I would choose days for the reasons mentioned above. And remember, you'll have to sleep sometime so you won't be completely off the hook for daycare. Look at it this way - in most facilities it is easier to move from days to nights than it is it move from nights to days :). If you really find that nights would be better, you probably won't have to wait long to switch.

[klone, MSN, RN]

I agree but the reason I am torn is night shift makes more and my partner and I could pass the kid back and forth to avoid day care. Downside is I worry I would be a zombie

We did that. Think long and hard on the logistics of it. Yes, you are right, you WILL be a zombie. I was so sleep deprived for that first year, until our child was 15 months old until my husband finally said "You have GOT to get a day shift, you are making yourself insane." It wasn't until I went to days that I realized I was in a year-long postpartum depression and that first year was an entire fog.

I worked every other night, so that I could stay up during the following day, only napping when my son napped. What that means is that while we avoided daycare for a year, I was NEVER fully rested. Don't do it.

Even if you DO do nights, you should still get childcare so that you can get uninterrupted sleep when you get home from work. Otherwise, you're just not safe, and it's not healthy.

[ChristineN, BSN, RN]

We did that. Think long and hard on the logistics of it. Yes, you are right, you WILL be a zombie. I was so sleep deprived for that first year, until our child was 15 months old until my husband finally said "You have GOT to get a day shift, you are making yourself insane." It wasn't until I went to days that I realized I was in a year-long postpartum depression and that first year was an entire fog.

I worked every other night, so that I could stay up during the following day, only napping when my son napped. What that means is that while we avoided daycare for a year, I was NEVER fully rested. Don't do it.

Even if you DO do nights, you should still get childcare so that you can get uninterrupted sleep when you get home from work. Otherwise, you're just not safe, and it's not healthy.

This sounds awful. Yeah the only way I see nights working is if I work every Fri and sat night shift, so that my partner would be home and awake during the days to watch the baby while I sleep. However that still wouldn't explain what to do for my 1 other shift a week.

I have been leaning toward days. However we live in a more expensive urban environment, where the average day care is $20k/year (and this is just for an average day care). We could swing it on our salary now, but it would mean we could not save for a house.

[BSNbeauty, BSN, RN]

I'm three months pregnant and trying to decide what shift I want to do. Right now I do mainly day shifts with the occassional night shift. I'm leaning more towards staying on days because I don't want to be a zombie. I don't want to sleep all day or not sleep all day. Either way, I feel that night shift will negatively affect me, my husband and newborn baby.

I honestly think it depends on the individual. Many moms at my job either stay on days or go to nights depending on their situation. My husband also works a 9-5. Now what I may end up doing is working mainly weekends so that we won't need hardly any day care.

[Not_A_Hat_Person, RN]

I'm currently on maternity leave. My husband also works 9 to 5, and my job provides our health insurance. We have twins, and child care for 2 infants is rare and expensive.

I'm going back to work next week, and for now, I will work weekends only. I considered nights, but I realized I would need child care to sleep. We'll see how it goes.

[RunBabyRN]

Another factor is your marriage. Working opposite shifts and trading off child care will absolutely wear on your marriage. When will you nurture THAT relationship? Also, if you're both caring for the baby when you're not at work, when will you sleep/shop/eat/shower?

Renting isn't the worst thing in the world. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices to have the things you want. You are better off focusing on a few great things and doing them well than on trying to spread yourself too thin and half ***ing everything.

ETA: You NEVER get your time back with your child, and you can't undo some damage that gets done in a marriage. You can always save for a house later. Sanity is important.

[RNperdiem, RN]

If you can get the childcare I would go for days.

Most of my coworkers use family members or a nanny where I work. The cost of childcare is big, especially for an infant. Nights might be your only choice if day care is too expensive or not available for the long hours.

Personally, I went for a lot of weekend shifts.

[ChristineN, BSN, RN]

If you can get the childcare I would go for days.

Most of my coworkers use family members or a nanny where I work. The cost of childcare is big, especially for an infant. Nights might be your only choice if day care is too expensive or not available for the long hours.

Personally, I went for a lot of weekend shifts.

I have no family where we live. My husband's parents live near by but we will be moving to another state in the future. We don't forsee family being an option long term for child care