Or more importantly... what should I do?

[HeadFairy]

I'm waiting to talk to my line manager so I may be jumping the gun here, but I'd appreciate a little input on a problem we've got brewing...

dh has got to have a knee operation, we did think it was a simple cartilige removal number, local anaesthetic and on your feet after a couple of hours (had it done myself) however, after getting the results of his MRI scan he had done last week, it's now a more complicated op, under GA which will involve them breaking a bone and resetting it, and then he'll have to be non weight bearing, on crutches and unable to drive for 6 weeks afterwards.

The problem is that my shifts are work are 11am - 11pm. I usually drop ds off at the childminder, and dh picks him up in the evening and puts him to bed. He obviously won't be able to do that. Our work don't do any other shifts (other than night shifts, still a problem as they are 11pm to 11am). My sister can't pick ds up from the cm as she works funny hours too, my mum works full time and is over an hour's drive away and my dad isn't physically up to it.

Can anyone see a way I can work this out without having to take unpaid leave for 6 weeks? Does compassionate leave cover this sort of thing?

Oh and I know, I've spelt cartilege/cartilidge/cartilige whatever the flip it is wrong

can your dh use minicabs to pick up and drop off your ds, sorry am typing one-handed as dd has fallen asleep on my lap.

are you thinking he will be too incapacitated to do bedtime as well though?

Poor you, could the collection/drop off at home be possible in a lunch hour?

I think you could get 2 weeks paid special leave - the rest unpaid.

Is the problem the picking up (i.e. driving) on its own or is it also the childcare once he's home?

Could you afford to get a babysitter in each night to help with the bedtime routine?

Could your childminder drop ds of at your house?

would it be possible for you to leave work to pick him up and drop him home?

Or ask CM a HUUUGE favour for the 6 weeks?

my cm can't drive so I can't really ask her to drop off. Dh won't be able to do the bath time as he'll be unable to get down to help ds in the bath (he's 20 months) so I really will need to be there.

The minicabs an idea but we'd have to put the car seat in each time and dh won't be able to do it as he can't weight bear, so won't have two hands free to do it.

I've just had a chat with my line manager now, I'm not going to be able to avoid using some annual leave, which of course I don't mind, we can't afford a holiday this year anyway. I may have to end up doing nights for three weeks in a row though, there is a shift 8pm-6am which I didn't know about. Bummer is that I'm pg as well and we're going to be moving house in the middle of all of this so I think I may well need 6 weeks rehab myself at the end of it all!

Sorry, forgot to add, work is an hours drive away, so I can't get home to pick him up and put him to bed. I have to be at work at specific times as that's when our bulletins are (work in tv news) so I can't leave during a shift.

8pm-6am shift sounds a rough ride but feasible solution

tv news sounds exciting!

it is exciting, but rubbish for family life. It's a times like this i wish I did a 9-5 job.

On a more positive note, there's a slim chance dh may be able to persuade his mum to come over from Cyprus for 6 weeks but we'll have to pay her flights and the cost to board her four cats in a cattery as she won't be able to afford it on her own (she's terrified of flying hence her tendency not to fly very often, even to see her grandson)

Could a nanny be an option? Maybe pay the nanny to go to CMs collect DS then do the routine for you? As it is temporary you could employ an ad-hoc nanny meaning you wont have to pay their tax/NI.

I'd say you're looking at about £10 per hour though maybe slightly more in London

It is a possibility I guess... I think the solution may have to be a combination of all of the above really. It's going to be tough juggling it all. My mum has flown to the rescue too, she can take a week off work and help out too. Thanks for replies though, hopefully it's all going to slip in to place. Now I've just got to work out how to deal with a dh who's terrified of needles and operations and is bricking it.