anyones DH work nights?
#1_BadgeBunny
member
DH works nights and i work days... so im up and out the door betwen 5 and 6am drive and hour to work... work all day in a stressful job but i love it.. rush home in time to pick LOs up from daycare and RUSH home to get dinner in them before they FREAK.
9 times out of 10 daycare doesnt get them down for a nap like i asked between 4 and 5 so after the LOs bellys get full they want to nap (but i have been trying to force them to stay awake until at least 730) so now i am trying to entertain two tired LOs while shoving a bowl of cereal in my mouth bc they wont give me 5 min to even cook something easy
then around 8 pm I start bedtime and they are lights out by 9pm. then its off to clean bottles, pack thier bag for day care the next day, start laundry, get my stuff ready for work the next day, shower and get in bed betwen 10 and 11.
The thing is DH works nights so its not like one of us can cook dinner while the other entertains, or wash bottles and laundry while one feeds and does bedtime. i feel like there has GOT to be a way for me to streamline this system??? any suggestions?
Re: anyones DH work nights?
what are dh's hours? dh works days M-F , 50-60 hours at the office/lab/classroom, then some from home at night and on weekends. I work nights, but 12 hr shifts... many days I get stuck doing everything , getting a short nap before work and then staying up all the next day (during the week, weekends I sleep like a baby). dh tries to help where he can and many weekdays that I do work, I try to schedule on days he does not have class or office hours, so he can come home around the kids naptime (1) and work from home all afternoon, while I get a solid 4 hours of sleep before going to work... he'll cook for he those nights or I heat a casserole I've prepped ahead of time.
How and when does dh help around the house? anything he can have prepped for you before he sleeps or goes into work? maybe he can pack or layout stuff for daycare for the next day... or prep a meal for ya. ???
how old are your peanuts? any reason you're keeping them up until 8pm? I'd let them go to bed if they'll sleep until the normal waking hour in the am.
prep meals ahead of time... cook ahead and reheat if you can. when you make a casserole, make two, freeze one... get a slowcooker. plan simple meals for dinner (soup and salad night).. depending on dcs' age, have them help. dc love making pizza or seasoning meats or stirring for me. if making something that goes in the oven for a half hour or more... bath them while you're waiting for it to cook. let them play in the bath.. get dressed for bed while they wait... feed 'em, brush teeth, read a book and lay 'em down.
good luck! I know how alternating schedules can suck.
My DH works 3 p.m.-midnight. I work about 9-5, but it's flexible an hour either way. LO is almost 6 months old, and I'm still doing the rush-rush thing you described!
At this point, I've been eating a very late lunch at work (about 3) so I'm not starving when I get home, because I don't get to eat until after LO goes to bed at 8. I have been doing a lot of protein meal shakes for dinner because cooking is out of the question right now.
So I guess I don't have a lot of advice to give you, just know that you're not alone! I'm trying to figure out how to work it out, too. In the meantime, I'm losing the baby weight because I'm not eating much.
It's opposite for us, I'm the one who works nights and DH works days. I don't have too many suggestions DH usually has cereal. I do try to cook a couple times a week so there are leftovers he can just heat and eat but honestly he has lost 20 lbs (that he could afford to lose) because he stopped eating dinner most nights.
I know a couple things that have worked for us was doing bath time during the day and getting LO to bed a little earlier (it had been 9 now it 8 at the lastest.)
my DH only works nights a couple of months a year (this is one of them), and it's hard. I am so impressed that you get all of this done every night.
One thing I can tell you is that in about 3 months your twins will be able to pick up food and feed themselves, have a sippy or a snack in the car on the way home, and not take long afternoon naps. There are tough things about toddlers, but overall life is easier.
Mine are 2years and 7 months, so I can feed the baby while I eat, and the 2 year old feeds himself. I make whatever I want for dinner and leave leftovers for DH. After dinner, the 2 year old "helps" me with the dishes while the baby tries to pick up cheerios in his high chair.
DH works 3 to midnight. I will say i have gotten on his case about "doing more" around the house when the LOs are in day care. it has pretty much gone in one ear and out the other. or at least take anap bc i am tired of his bit*ching about being tired! I would kill for 5 hours to do whatever i wanted!!!!! I think i am going to ask DH to either start cleaning more or cook a meal that i can reheat wheni get home (and not pasta i can cook that myself... plus my big butt certainly doesnt need all that carbs at 7pm!)
since i wrote the post i found FISH... is soooo quick to cook. I bought the frozen filets of halibit and while i am feeding the LOs i put the fish in a container of warm water in the sink (they are shrink wrapped) so they are defrosted by the time the LOs eat. it literally takes 5 min on the stove top and i toss in a veggie in the microwave!! but i can only eat fish so many nights a week hahaha!
Alli... i am WAITING for that moment where they can "fend" for themselves a little more! I never thought i would miss the days of them being sleepy logs hahaha!!!
i guess right now is i can pretty much do anything bc i love the LOs and i have to... but i feel myself starting to burn out. I just want some alone time!!! i love theLOs but im stuck on GO and i aint no energizer bunny!!!
i would move bedtime up but DH cries that they wake up at 6 am when i do that! so i keep them up a little later so MAYBe they will sleep in for him or at least its not my fault if they wake up... i tired my best! I did find bath time in the sink (opposed to the baby tubs) is wayyyy easier now that the LOs can sit on thier own. they play... and its less to clean up! i would move bath time to the day but bath time is like a drug to them hahaha... they get clean and full and its lights out! so i save that tid bit of info for my arsenal at night!
well off to clean the mess from the evening THANKS!!!