Juggling shift work and daycare...need new job?

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi, I am in a unique position as I work d/e every other weekend in the hospital and my husband works 5p-3a, varied shifts/weekends. We had been having my mother in law do our daycare, but now she is going to watch for someone else (another family member) to be fair. So....we are having a hard time with a new daycare option since the only plausible one is having a nanny (and multiple ones) to accommodate our varied needs (day and evenings, 6-10 days per month, no set schedule). I am really considering trying to find a new job that is straight days, since this would give us more options. However, we are also in the process of trying to add an addition to our family, and I am not sure how to time a new job if we are trying to get pregnant. With that, I need to stay within my current company to have the hours for leave saved up. I don't know if I should try and make the nanny gig work until we do have a kid, or make a change now and avoid the potential headache. I am thinking strongly of trying to get a home care job for the days and flexibility. I know I may just be trying to plan too much, but any advice is helpful!

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My husband works 4p-2a and I work varied shifts. Only solution we have is to work opposite days. Additionally he is national guard, so he is gone frequently.

Posting from my phone, ease forgive my fat thumbs! :)

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Yeah, I wish I had that choice. I can request two days off every two weeks, but don't get my requests all that often. That's a whole different issue....If I could pick my days it would be way easier!!

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Yeah I wish I had that choice. I can request two days off every two weeks, but don't get my requests all that often. That's a whole different issue....If I could pick my days it would be way easier!![/quote']

Can he pick shifts? Perhaps if you requested "crappy days" (fri, sat an Sunday) and he requested Monday, tue and wed??? You'd get Thursday together. That's how we do it :( we take turns requesting to work crappy days so we are more likely to have the kids covered.

Posting from my phone, ease forgive my fat thumbs! :)

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No, he has his schedule one year out, I get mine month to month, but my scheduler isn't very flexible. I'm stuck between wanted more normal hours for reliable daycare, and actually liking my current job most days and having really good health insurance. We can try the nanny route, but I am concerned about finding reliable help for such rotating shifts.

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Ugh I totally understand and feel your pain! My husband's job has all three shifts, 7 days a week. So trying to find a nursing job for me and daycare for our two babies has been a pain! What we have now is working fairly well. He works nights with Sunday, Monday off days. We keep the kids home those days but send them to daycare Wednesday through Friday so he can sleep and be up with us in the evening. I work first and have Saturday and Sunday off days. Our schedule is so confusing I get lost sometimes lol! It works so well though because if the kids are sick he sucks it up and keeps them home so I don't have to call off.

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I do work an office nurse job for less pay though I should point out. This is the only way I am able to

Work full time though.

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