Need advice on irregular schedules

RondackHiker

The next few weeks are going to be rough. DH is traveling for interviews from today till Tuesday evening. Then he will be home with DS for a few days while daycare is closed. 

Then next week he travels for more interviews Sunday till Thursday evening. 

The week after that I will be on a business trip and won't see DS from bedtime Sunday until Friday morning.

The next week, DH is gone for more interviews for 6 nights, then back for three days, then gone for three more.

We are used to DH having long hours and not seeing DS for a day or two, but the absolute craziness of the coming weeks have me worried. I imagine it is going to be tough for DS to handle so much change. One of us will almost always be gone. And he ADORES his daddy and sleeps with his daddy's shirt when he doesn't see him that day. Usually we'd do lots of phone calls, but the way these interviews are set, DH won't be free when DS is awake.

Does anyone have advice to handle these transitions? I feel like most of our usual coping strategies of visiting daddy for dinner or video chatting wont work. And there will be no consistency. Poor kiddo.

Arnegard

He's only 2.  He'll adapt.  Give him a picture of DH to carry when DH is gone.
Dh works shift work and we've had busy days that we don't see him and the kids are fine.

RondackHiker

Arnegard:

He's only 2.  He'll adapt.  Give him a picture of DH to carry when DH is gone.
Dh works shift work and we've had busy days that we don't see him and the kids are fine.

 It isn't so much just the long hours. We've done that a lot. DH has worked twelve to fourteen hour days for weeks straight. 

 I may be over thinking it, but I feel like there is a lot of changing from week to week, which is what will make the adjustment hard. It will be just me. Then just daddy. Then just me. When DH has shifted to long hours in the past, DS has adjusted, but this seems like a lot of swapping in a short time. 

 I will try the photo idea, thanks. 

RondackHiker

Aaaaand I am realizing I am lying to myself. I do think this will be tougher on DS than the regular schedule, but I am also freaked about working full time and getting ready for Christmas and caring for DS and the dog without much help. And I am freaked that I cannot reach DH from 7am till late evening most days while he travels, so if something goes wrong I am completely on my own. And I am sad for myself and DS that we will miss him. And stressed because these interviews are so important and determine where we will live next year.

So, yeah. Ignore my freak out. We will be okay. I am just not looking forward to the next few weeks. 

 

LovesMM

Totally irrelevant but you are so close to breaking out of newbie status. Just need like 17 more posts to get Bronze.

Spapeggy

Make videos on your phone of dad reading a book for him to watch