Does anyone manage to work nights with preschool or school age DC?

[cinnamon81]

Just wondered how manageable it is to get home from nights, take DC to school/nursery get some sleep while they are out and then pick up from school/nursery and spend quality time with them before going off to do nightshift again.

Have done nights before and don't have any problem sleeping during day, just trying to work out best options for returning to work in next couple of years. Nights in my line of work are generally 7pm until 7.30am 3 to 4 days a week (nurse). Might include weekends but DH generally around then so I can sleep during day.

Anyone else manage or considering nights? What would you consider good/bad about it?

I work some nights and doesn't cause too much trouble. Plan shifts so DH is around to look after boys overnight and they go to childminder the next morning so I can sleep during day before picking them up. The only tough bit is the first shift in the week as I have them all day before I go on duty. I am quite lucky as I do split weeks in a job share so at most I only do 2 nights in a row which I can manage without sleeping all day.

Thanks for input fleximum hadn't considered day before first shift, can't remember if slept day before pre-children or not but certainly had much more energy then!

I work nights and it works out ok. Most times I get home around 10am. Dh has already taken ds to the childminder so I go straight to bed. If dh can manage to leave work on time he picks ds up from the cm too, and gets home around 6pm when I usually get up. If he can't manage it I get up at about 5.30pm and go and get ds. To be honest I don't get much quality time with ds on those weeks, it's really only bath and bedtime. I tend to just grit my teeth and get through them. I usually do 4 or 5 in a row, but then I'm off for a week afterwards so it's not as bad as it sounds.

Next week I'm doing 2000-0630 so I should be able to see him in the mornings as well as the evenings, but then the sacrifice will be that I don't have dinner with dh before I go to work.

I do get extra for working nights, so I suppose that helps, but really everyone has to do them so I have no choice. If I did, I wouldn't do them.

Oh and to follow on from Fleximum, the first shift is the killer. My first shift is usually Sunday night so I send ds out to the park with dh on sunday afternoon so I can at least get a couple of hours sleep, but it's never enough.

I guess if your first night shift is a week night then I'd say arrange some childcare for the daytime (even if it's only half a day) so you can have at least some sleep before you start your shift and it doesn't mean then you're up for 36 hours as I usually end up being on my first night shift.

Work a Sunday and a Thursday 12 hr night. DS1 starts school in Sept, but was at pre school on a Fri and Nursery till 1pm on Mon. DS2 at nursery Mon and Fri am.

I get about 2.5 hrs sleep after a night, so am usually fairly knackered for the rest of that day!

I think its fine for now, if the boys were in childcare all day for me to work day shifts, it would hardly be worth going to work. It is hard work, but I chose to be around for the early years before they go to school and I wouldnt change how I've done it.

Can only manage by doing split nights though.
I love Friday nights, am vv tired by then, DH now sees it as his duty to come home and spoil me!

I'm going back to work this week (also a nurse). I'm meant to be doing two split night shifts a week, but they've already given my two together next week. Dd is 6 months.

I love working nights, but I'm still a bit worried as to how hard it will be.