Shift work and baby - possible ?

[zoe1090]

Hi
My baby is due February. I am planning ahead for when I return to work ( I will need to return after 6 months as I will only get statutory pay ) . I currently work as a nurse full time I am office based and do three 12.5 shifts 07.45-20.15 it can be any day as we are 24/7 service so nights too. Usually one set a month.

I am concerned that I am being unrealistic in assuming after 6 months I can just stop breastfeeding and suddenly go back to working 3 long days a week I don't feel like my baby will be old enough for a nursery , I only have family member for 1 day childcare and partner for another ( he works Monday - Friday so would cover Saturday or Sunday if I was too work )

I am thinking about asking to reduce my hours to two long days rather than three. This will mean my salary which go from 28500 to around 17000 . My partner earns 21k. Our mortgage is 700 then all of our bills.

I am really unsure if it's realistic to think I can drop my money so much but equally don't know how I will manage 3 shirts at 12.5 hours . I want to look after my baby .

Could anyone advise me who has been or is in a similar position ? If you cut hours did it work out ok? Or have you gone back to full time shift work with baby 6 months ?

Thank you in advance

You'll probably lose about £650 per month by dropping one day. Only you will know if your finances can take that hit. A big chunk of it may be cancelled out by lower nursery costs anyway if you drop days.

I don't work shifts but I do work full time with a long commute so out from 8am-7pm from when DS was 6 months old. Financially it just didn't work for us to reduce any hours so it wasn't a big decision to make. If you have to do it you will, equally if you want to drop hours and can afford to then great.

Whatever you decide your little one will be absolutely fine. Good luck!

Thank you- how was it practically with going back to work when baby was 6 months , I'm just thinking about practical things like feeding ( first baby so not sure what to expect ). Did you have family for childcare or nursery ?

I can’t comment on shift work particularly although sister is a nurse and she is going back to nigh shifts and weekends initially to balance childcare. I also have a friend who both her and her partner do shift work. Is a struggle but they do manage with a bit of planning.

And just to reassure you with regards to leaving baby at 6 months, she/he will be completely fine. The thought of it is worse than reality. My dd is 15 weeks old today and I went back to work 2 weeks ago. I had no choice but to go back so soon and honestly it’s been absolutely fine. She’s with dh one day and she loves her childcare the other days.

I stopped breastfeeding at 6 weeks. But I know lots of colleagues who came back full time after 5/6 months and would pump during the day, and bfeed on the days they were off and overnight.

For the first 6 months my MIL looked after DS full time. She was great. After that he went to nursery a couple of days gradually increasing his hours and was in nursery full time by 17 months.

I don’t work shifts but do work some evenings. I went back to work part-time when DS was three months. I’d say it’s possible. The hardest for us is that DS feeds to sleep and my DH can’t yet get him to settle to sleep (at 7 months) other than by walking him in his pram. But there’s no point worrying about that now because lots of other babies settle more easily - and we’ve coped. Lots of mums work shifts.

I’m still breastfeeding and express milk for when I’m not around. It’s begun to get so much easier from six months when DS started on solids.

I’m a nurse and when I was pregnant with my first child I was working 3 days a week, 13 hour sifts. I went back to work when my son was 9-10 months old and carried on breast feeding until he was 2.5 years old.

I have just returned to work after my second baby and have reduced my hours down to three days instead of two. I can’t back when he was about 10 months and I’m still breast feeding him too.

With the right support from your workplace and partner going back three days a week is manageable and doesn’t mean you have to stop breast feeding