Night shifts and school runs

[TigerBreadAddict]

Hi DH is starting a new job soon doing night shifts. He will also have to do school runs on some of those days ie and sleep between.
For those who do this, is it sustainable? Do you get enough sleep? What's your routine re meals/naps etc Do you revert to day time waking on your non working days ? DH will be doing the same 4 nights every week, we have primary aged children.
Any tips and experiences gratefully received!

I did night shifts for 20+ years routine was , home , drop children , home , shower , bed by 9.30/10 , up at 2/2.15 to collect , do dinner etc , back to work . Once dc were not at school I slept for the same length of time but we had a dog who was walked in the gaps morning and night . Pre dc I had horses at home that I did in the gaps ( they went on full livery once dc came along) . It was plenty of sleep for me but I only sleep 6 hours max at night normally even now that I’ve been retired for 3 yrs . ( I’m early 50s so it’s not an age thing) .

Wow Floral that's less than 5hours a day! Did you nap at other times?

Not me but my neighbour does nights. He gets in at 7.30, him or wife drop the kids at breakfast club, wife goes to work and he goes to bed.

He sleeps until 2.30 and goes and gets the kids or they go to after school club and wife gets them on the way home from work.

Is there a breakfast club at your children's school that they can go to so you or husband can drop them earlier and he can get an extra bit of time in bed?

I do this, 7 Home, get her up, school run, back at 9, asleep soon after, up at 2.30. Sometimes I can get in a little nap between 8 and 9 before work. It's just about ok and lots do it

I've not done nights myself but OH has just come off form 5 years of 12 hr nights

In the beginning he said he would still do the school run but practically he was home by 6.15 and just too knackered to stay up till 8.30 to do the school run so it never happened. He was up at 2.30 (his choice, so he could see us) but was never up for the school run. I suppose if he had to do it he would but I was home anyway.

The 12 hour shifts in a physical job were very tiring on him and he says it is nowsince he's been on days he realise how much it took it out of him. He is probably a bit older than your OH anyway

I don’t think that’s sustainable. Lack of sleep can have a severe impact on health even if it’s not immediately identifiable as a cause. E.g. diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and heart disease. I like the suggestion of breakfast club. It’s hard work on the body doing shift work. That too has health implications so he must get his sleep.

I do 2 night shifts per week, but one of those is a weekend so no school run. It’s doable, but it is knackering! At best you’ll sleep 9.30-2.30 between school runs, but in reality someone knocks at the door, or the bloody birds sing too loud, or there are builders on the street, and you don’t end up getting a solid sleep, even for the short time you’re at home.

I do this. I work midnight till 8am 4 days a week. My husband does the morning school run, as I'm not home till 9.30. Last term was hard as I had to pick up from nursery at 11.30, then back for the older one at 3.30, so very little sleep. This term I'll get in for 9.30 and sleep till 2.40, and that will be so much better. It's hard though, and I do end up staying awake for 24 hours at least once a week, sometimes twice, in order to constantly reset my body clock

No I don’t nap , I will say that nights have completely messed up my sleep patterns , I’ve not done a night shift for over 3 yrs as I gave up work but I still can’t even contemplate going to sleep until 12:30 / 1 am and could quite happily stay up until 5/6 am and then just have 4/5 hours sleep . I’m never tired during the day .

I can’t manage to stay up for school run. I get in about 7ish and ur would kill me to stay awake to do it so kids go to childminder and is dropped there by h on his way to work. If I got in about 8am or so I would probably be able to do it but not when there is 90 mins or so hanging about.

Thanks for the posts. It turns out there will only be one day that we both work/ overlap.
On that day he will get in at 7am/I will leave at same time. I like the idea of breakfast club so that he can get to bed earlier. He will have to take them though as it's not open til 7.45.
We're also going to need childcare in the evening as I don't get home til 7 ish (he will leave at 5).
I'm not sure how long he can sustain this, he's not the best sleeper at the best of times! And he does struggle with sleep shortage. But it's his plan!

I would have struggled to do that, certainly if it was the majority of days, possibly manageable if one day a week.

I always used a CM so I could come straight in and go to sleep. Would have struggled staying awake till after 9am and wouldn’t have had enough sleep to get up and do another night shift. You never sleep as well during the day, keep waking up, lighter sleeping, etc.