if you work third shift please come in...

yepyepsms

I have to do a rotation on third shift for three months. My shift will be 10:30PM-7AM.  My plan is to sleep right when I get home, and then wake up in the afternoon, and then pick up my son around the same time I always do. So basically flipflopping my work and sleep so I can spend the same amount of time with my son and hubby. 

I am nervous about the sleep transition because I've never done third before. Also nervous because my son still wakes up once per night and I always get up with him and now DH will. 

If you work third shift, can you give me some tips on how you sleep/workout/eat/spend time with family?  Also, how do you do weekends? I want to try to be up as much as possible so I don't lose out on time with family.

Tia!

Lena122

I think what you're saying is definitely doable. You'd go to sleep around 8, wake up when it's time to pick up your son and spend the evening with him. When it comes to weekends, I just stay awake on my last day so I can spend time with H and DS. If I have to I'll take a 2 hour nap in the afternoon when DS does.

HarperK

I don't work 3rd shift, but my DH does. His hours are a little different from yours (7 PM - 3 AM), but he has also done a 10 - 6 and 11 - 7 (for three years! Oof). It's hard for him to get to sleep right after he gets home, so he usually watches some bad TV for about 30 minutes to wind down, and then gets to bed about an hour after his shift ends. He sets his alarm every day too, so that he doesn't sleep too far into the afternoon. Then he goes for a run and does errands and stuff after he wakes up and before he picks up DS from daycare around 4. He is the main cook in our house because of his schedule, so he makes dinner in the late afternoon so it's ready when I get home from work around 5:30.

What sucks for us right now is that he and I barely get any time together during the week. I see him for an hour before he leaves for work. Boo. It sounds like you and your DH will be able to hang out in the evenings and then you'd be leaving around his bedtime. 

On weekends, my DH messes up his sleep a bit for the sake of family time. He gets up around 10 on Saturday morning, and then goes to bed at a normalish hour on Saturday night and then lets me sleep in on Sunday! Then he stays up late on Sunday night to transition back to his work week schedule.

With regard to the sleep transition, he says he *never* really adjusts fully. It just messes with him to be asleep during the day. He just tries to eat as well as possible (having a snack at work is a must), take a multivitamin, and get regular exercise.

Good luck to you!

yepyepsms

HarperK:

I don't work 3rd shift, but my DH does. His hours are a little different from yours (7 PM - 3 AM), but he has also done a 10 - 6 and 11 - 7 (for three years! Oof). It's hard for him to get to sleep right after he gets home, so he usually watches some bad TV for about 30 minutes to wind down, and then gets to bed about an hour after his shift ends. He sets his alarm every day too, so that he doesn't sleep too far into the afternoon. Then he goes for a run and does errands and stuff after he wakes up and before he picks up DS from daycare around 4. He is the main cook in our house because of his schedule, so he makes dinner in the late afternoon so it's ready when I get home from work around 5:30.

What sucks for us right now is that he and I barely get any time together during the week. I see him for an hour before he leaves for work. Boo. It sounds like you and your DH will be able to hang out in the evenings and then you'd be leaving around his bedtime. 

On weekends, my DH messes up his sleep a bit for the sake of family time. He gets up around 10 on Saturday morning, and then goes to bed at a normalish hour on Saturday night and then lets me sleep in on Sunday! Then he stays up late on Sunday night to transition back to his work week schedule.

With regard to the sleep transition, he says he *never* really adjusts fully. It just messes with him to be asleep during the day. He just tries to eat as well as possible (having a snack at work is a must), take a multivitamin, and get regular exercise.

Good luck to you!

 Thank you everyone for your thoughts!  Funny thing is, DS slept through the night last night for the first night I was away on third. Little stinker:)  Appreciate your help!!