Overnight away from home for work!

[MadinParis]

Hello,

I am looking to share some experience with other mums.

I went back to work when my little girl was 9 month old and been with the current arrangements for 13months now.
(She is 2 today!!!! can't believe it).

The arrangements are: I am working part time, 28hours over 3 days. So, I am leaving home at 6.30am on Tuesday morning, travel 3hr, do my 28 hours in London (9 to 5; 8.30 to 7pm; 8 to 6.30pm) and catch the train at 8pm to go back home on thursday night after midnight.

Baby girl is with daddy - who also works part-time and with nanny. She is with me the other 4 days: friday to monday.

I was expecting this to be temporary ... "yeah, I will find another job quickly closer to home" but could not find one although I have been looking for almost 2 years. Tough, Tough Tough job market.

This is working well for my daughter as I took many many advices before going back to work. My aunty is a pediatrician and she advised me to start when my daughter was between 6 and 9 months old as the separation would be easier. The nanny was aware since the beginning and is fantastic (you would not believe the ones I have met who looked shocked when I was talking about my travelling and staying away). And the daddy is wonderful ... And the time I spent with my ladee is precious. It is as if I turn on and off so worries at night about job issues etc. i am really available for baby and partner when I am home.

Now, I may have found a job closer to home - 8miles from where I live ... but, because there is a but ... there is 50 to 60% travelling needed. The interviewer was clear about this: there may have 50hr weeks, 5 days away from home and other weeks spent all days in, very close to home. They have a strict policy about working hours so I will take the hours back when I am working overtime.

I don't know how to approach these absences as it is no longer going to be a fixed schedule although the planning is done for 6months. It is an auditor work so the clients are warned long in advance, it is not as if the decision is taken overnight and suddently you have to leave. Is it going to work?

I have really really tried hard to find jobs closer to home, even below my qualifications with no luck. 21 job interviews so far and this is my first real opportunity.

If you have had to play with your planning like that, I would like to hear from you.

(Excuse my French, I am French!

Tough decision.
How flexible is your nanny? If she is not prepared to change her hours each week (even with notice) then it is not going to be do-able.

This is a very tough decision I think.

At the moment, although you are working away from home, it is routine work and you, your DP, your child and your nanny knows what is what.

Yes the new job will be planned but it may well be very unsettling - but then again you are closer to home.

What a bloody difficult decision. However, if I were you i would go for the new job and see how it goes.

Good luck.

It sounds like your arrangement is working well at the moment, and tbh the new job sounds like a bit of a nightmare. If I were you I would hang on to the current arrangement and keep looking for jobs...

Thanks for the replies.

Regarding the nanny, we cannot really change her hours weekly. From Sep09 to Aug10, we were paying her Tues, Wed, Thurs. Since Sept10, we are paying her Mon to Thurs: we add the Monday in the event that I am finding a full-time job and I did not want to be stuck because of childcare issue.
My partner is working Mon to Thurs in the event something happens in the week. It happened a few times when baby was sick and he stayed with her - for example on a Tuesday and when to work on a Friday to give the hours back when I am back.

So, childcare is okay.