Nursing shift work needed...

[Spacey01]

Calling all nurses..

Have been out of nursing for 10 years and am starting my return to nursing course tomorrow. How do you cope with shift work and children. My DD is one year old. I am concerned that she will be really unsettled when I start doing shifts. My parents and parents in law have her regularly and am going to try to ensure that she is not overly unsettled by the shifts but there will be times when I will be dropping her off very early and picking her up very late. Would be good to hear how other people cope with shift work and children

Sorry - title should have read nursing shift work advice needed!!!

good luck for tomorrow first off!

shift work is hard but may well be easier for you as your dd will be with grandparents rather than childminders etc.

I was doing shifts when my eldest was 1 and she sort of got use to it - I didn't. DH was there at bedtime / did tea / bath if I was at work and this was something she was already used too. DD would have also seen mummy go out of an evening anyway and not be back before she was asleep so again used to me not being around.

You have to be mega organised for the early starts - can your DH start later (or a more resaonable time) so you don't have to lift a sleeping child into the car at 630? Can the grandparents come to you?

menu plan and pre-cook meals so that the waking time you have with dd isn't compromised. keep to routines if they are already there and if its always been you doing bed etc then get others to start doing it.

I was pleased to get a 9-5 role when dd was 2 mainly because then I was using the childcare I was paying for. On shifts I rarely used half of what I had to pay for.