Published
I became a single mom when my D was 6 months old. I was per diem, and went back to full time nights. I had joint custody with my exh. He took her on the nights I worked and I pretty much had to do weekends. Wasn't working for me anymore, wasn't working for him either. Then I went to days but couldn't hack it with the child care sitch. It was very difficult.My DD is now 5 and started kindergarten. I want my 12 hour shifts back sooooooo bad. But wih school it's nothing to work:(For an 18 month old I would say the way to go is to hire a nanny. I know it's difficult and I wish you the best of luck and Im sorry about your mom. With no help and family support, it is very hard to do shift work.
I had a live in nanny when my son was little. My mom would swing by the house to check on them. Have you tried looking for a daycare? Some daycares open at 6 am. I recently posted a babysitting job at care.com. There were a lot of responses. I was able to find one within a day. She was great with my kids. The good thing about care is the nannies have been background checked, the downside is you have to pay a membership fee. I think I chose 1 month only. Make sure you cancel your membership if you don't need the service anymore (even when you have specified 1 month only) because they would automatically renew your membership.
does your hospital have child care? I don't think this is too common, but I've heard that some do.
Are there any other single parent nurses that you work with, where you could help each other out? maybe you could work clinic/office jobs? I dont know how much experience you have, but its worth applying.
I hate working 12s. luckily I don't have kids yet, but I can't imagine how single parents do it. Best of luck to you!
AlphaPig
87 Posts
Any single mom nurses out there work 12 hr shifts?? What do you do? I am struggling to find care for my 18 mon old. My mom has been picking him up from daycare but her health is poor. What do you do? Thanks.