Moms who work 16 hour weekend shifts

Nurses General Nursing

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I am due with my first baby in June. The facility that I work at offers an option to work 16 hour shifts on Saturday and Sunday and have the rest of the week off. They usually offer premiums for these positions, and you are considered a full-time employee.

To those of you who are moms and work these shifts, how do you like it? Is 16 hours too long of a stretch to be away from your little one? What kind of premium do you get at your facility?

I would appreciate any input...I know my facility offers these positions, but I don't think they have any available at the moment. I know other facilities in my area that have openings though.

Jrwest, I am pretty sure I would be exhausted too-it's just the convenience of it is so appealing. I wish my facility offered 12 hour shifts, but they don't. Right now I just work part time 8 hour shifts-7 shifts a pay period. When the baby is born I may just stick with this schedule and maybe work 6 shifts a pay period instead of 7, althought the w/e option would allow me to be full time only working 2 days/wk. Currently I work 3-11-anyone done this shift with a new baby? Does it work better than 7-3?

Specializes in PCCN.

3-11 has worked excellent for me, actually am still doing it, altho now my son is old enough(12) . It worked well, as my spouse would work 6-230, and we work only 5 mins from each other. when my son was that young, i would be with him all day, then we would play "musical kid" and I would drop him off to my husband who would then take care of him the rest of the day.I would always make it to work on time. I did spring for occasional daycare( the local church had very reasonable rates) which enabled a social lif for my sone once in a while. This was doable at the time.

True , you don't see your spouse as often, but we were in this together, and we have been married 22 years now :)

as for the sleepy co- worker, I noticed a common theme with her and another w/e option nurse- they would still follow a dayshift schedule during the week, and therefore would not get much sleep before their shift due to the kids, etc. I think that's why they would be falling asleep.Oh - i probably should note- these gals had to work nights. I shouldn't have assumed. Maybe Wldcherry's shift could be days?

jrwest-the weekend option at my job is 7am-11pm.

Specializes in Women's Surgical Oncology, MIU,MBU.

Again if its over the course of two days thats 16...if its 16 per day then thats 32...

Specializes in PCCN.

Wow-Wldchrry-but maybe this will work for you . Is it a contract?

Again if its over the course of two days thats 16...if its 16 per day then thats 32...

16 hours in 1 day is a 16 hour shift. That is what the OP is talking about. Two 16 hour shifts in 1 week is a 32 hour week, not a 32 hour shift. No one else is confused about this.

Jrwest..I don't think it's a contract. I know you get paid at a premium for these positions. Alot of places around here offer it-they advertise it as "weekend warrior" positions.

Specializes in PCCN.

If it's not a contract, then maybe you could give it a try.would they possibly let you shadow someone who works that shift?

Specializes in ICU, CM, Geriatrics, Management.

Research frowns on 12-hr shifts -- patient safety, inefficiency, increased errors, etc.

By that standard, shifts of 16 hrs would be downright dangerous. Facilities with these killer shifts are likely thinking more in terms of staffing convenience than the care of their patients / residents.

Specializes in OB/GYN, Peds, School Nurse, DD.

I think you need to really think loooooong and haaaaaard about this. If you're working a 16hr shift, that means you will be away from home for at least 17 hrs or more. You get home, you kiss the baby, get a cup of tea, throw your scrubs in the laundry, wash your face and try to get your mind to slow down enough to get some sleep--there goes another 60-90 min. You sleep. It takes you an hour to get ready for work in the morning and drink a cuppa coffee, 30 min to drive to work. So at this point, you're down to a whopping 4 HOURS SLEEP between shifts. Seriously, you think that's a good idea??

Speaking as someone who did work nights and weekends when my babies were little, it was hard enough to keep my milk supply up working 3 nights a week. Don't count on being able to pump at work. You might, if you get lucky. But considering that a lot of us don't even get a potty break or a lunch break, taking 20 minutes to pump in the linen closet is probably not going to happen. And that's even assuming that your breast cooperate in that setting. Sometimes breasts can be picky about where and when they let down. I think you're going to have a very hard time keeping your milk going with that schedule.

I'll tell you what worked for me: working part time 2-3 evening shfts/week. I know, it sounds counter-productive, but it worked great. DH kept the babies while I worked. When I came home, I'd gather the baby up and let them nurse to their heart's content. Then we'd all get put to bed and it didn't matter if I slept in the next day because I didn't have to work! Yeah, it was chaotic and I had to work more days, but it was not as grueling as working those back-to-back long shifts. For many years, i worked Tues, Thurs, and Sat or Sun. just to have the schedule that would allow me to have more quality time with my babies.

Good luck. I know it's uncharted territory for you.Don't sign any contracts and don't make any plans you can't change easily. You might be surprised at how you feel after the baby comes.

Specializes in APRN, ACNP-BC, CNOR, RNFA.

I currently work compressed weekends on the night shift as my 2nd job. It's not easy, and I certainly wouldn't recommend it for a new mom, unless your husband is 100% on board. Common problems are that you will still want to do "mommy" things over the course of the weekend, and you can't. You're going to miss a lot of "first time" stuff too. My opinion is that if you can afford to work 32 hours/week, then you can figure out how to afford to work 24 hours/week. I agree with one of the above posters, work 3x 8 hour shifts, and be at home with your family during the weekends. That time will be spent relaxing and enjoying each other, instead of dreading the upcoming weekend shifts. Good luck to you!

Mustlove and kguill, you both make good points. Right now I work 7 eight hour shifts every pay period which averages out to be 28 hours a week. If I don't do the 16 hour weekend shift option then I would probably do 6 eight hour shifts every pay period, which would be 24 hours per week. DH and I are trying to find a way for one of us to always be home with the baby and bypass childcare. I think 3 eights a week would be doable-the only problem is, where I work now they don't give you a set schedule, it changes every month. That makes it hard when trying to plan.

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