RN work schedule + first time mom HELP!!

kyliealwardt

Hey mommas!! I'm looking for some advice from other moms who work longs shifts.. 

Here's my dilemma. I'm a full time RN. I work 3 twelve hours day shifts each week. My husband is a corporate pilot. He is on call for 12 days, hard off for 3 days. During the on call times he has to be ready to fly out within an hour. We live in Kansas City, MO right smack dab in the city, so many daycare options are a 20-30 minute drive in the wrong direction. Both our families are from different towns at least 3 hours away. I've considered going PT or PRN at work.. If I go PT everything I make would go straight to pay for daycare. Plus, we would be paying for 4-5 days of daycare per week and really only be using 2 days per week, so it's kind of a waste of moolah. If I go PRN I lose insurance benefits and my husband's insurance doesn't provide great coverage. We just feel pretty stuck. 

So I'm just seeking some thoughts/advice from families that have dealt with similar situations. I'm currently 23 weeks pregnant so we have a little time. Baby will be here in January!! 

Thanks in advance for all your great thoughts!

mommaofmultiples

Nanny?

LynnJess29

Any daycares around that do split days? Our daycare does anywhere from 2-5 days of care, whatever the families need. We have DD in 2 days of daycare each week and then 2 days with my mom. I work part-time 4 days a week. Also any stay at home moms that you know that would be willing to watch your LO a few days?

jenn43

Have you priced out insurance on the open market if you decided to go PRN? If you worked PRN when your husband was off, would the savings on daycare make up for the fact that you have to pay for better health insurance?

mysquishy18

This is a problem for my family and many friends too. Basically my suggestion is to find a nanny/someone who you can get to watch your kid at a hours notice. It's hard on a nurse schedule with a partner with regular hours and it gets next to impossible when both of your schedules are abnormal. Find a nanny and look into cost of insurance and day care related to the PRN status and such. GL!

NurseRieger

That is a tough dilemma. I'm a night shift RN myself. Would you consider switching fields to something like wound care or case management that would be better for day care hours? If not is there a family member that can stay with you for the 3 days if u do them in a row? With our hours it's probably easier to hire a nanny because I've heard of day shift people paying extra for the early drop off and late pick up. Good luck.

SLGILL1978

What about an in home daycare? My babysitter does evening hours. She has one little girl who comes around 3pm and stays until 9-10pm. When I had my long days at work, she kept my daughter for me as well. 
Or what about finding an RN job in a doctor's office? They have a more set schedule. 

jessieR358

I would go PRN if you can afford it and pick up on the days he's in town. I have my mom watching my LO during my shifts.

kyliealwardt

I think we've pretty much decided that buying open market insurance is way too pricy so I'm going to stick with a PT position. We found a daycare that will allow us to pay per day so we won't be wasting money on a full week of childcare. I think we're also planning on finding a nanny to help us with pick up and drop off on days that my husband and I can't get our schedules in line. Hopefully it will all work out! Thanks for all the suggestions!