Anyone work 3rd shift?
hmhiggin
member
Hi ladies. This is my first time posting here.
I've just been offered a full time RN position. Five nights a week, 11p-7A. Really, the shift is the worst part about it. Everything else about this job is awesome, and as a new grad RN I would be stupid to turn it down. But I'm having horrible anxiety already about a daily schedule. DH and I have already decided that we will utilize daycare for DD. I will need more than just napping when she does, especially as I'm lucky to get a two naps out of her anymore.
I'm curious as to how others who work this shift make it work with their LO's. When do you sleep? When do you see LO or DH?
My first thought is this: DH will take DD to daycare in the morning. I come home and sleep 6-8hrs. I will pick DD up around 3-4. Then just spend that time with her until she goes to bed around 8. I will leave for work around10/1015.
That sounds like the easiest maybe? But I'm curious as to how others do it.
TIA!!
Re: Anyone work 3rd shift?
I'm not a nurse and I don't work nights but I had a gf who did it for 10 years or so with 3 kids. Hers was a bit differen situation since she worked 3 12 hour shifts, but she really liked it. She felt it was great until #3 and then she just couldn't do it anymore. She went to days a few weeks ago. Her 3rd child just turned 1. So, it can be done! Good luck! Oh, and she did not have daycare. To this day I tell her I think she is amazing! Also, she worked in the NICU. Crazy!
Hello, I also work third shift 10:30-7:30ish. It's only for three months and I've been doing it for one month. I love it!! I was also worried about how it would go, but I've adjusted to it very easily and I actually feel like I have more time to get things done. Here's our schedule if helpful:
I leave for work at 9:30PM, work till 7:30AM, home by 8AM. Pump, go to bed. Sleep from 8:30AM - 3:30PM (get black out curtains for your bedroom!). Most days I go exercise right when I wake up, then pick up LO from daycare at 4:30ish (this is when he was picked up when I was on first). We play, go for a damily walk, he eats dinner, etc. from 4:30 - 7PM, then he goes to bed. After DS goes to bed, I use that time to make dinner for DH and I, make bottles, clean up the house, shower, etc.
The only difference to DS is if he wakes in the MOTH it's Daddy and not me, and, the 30 minutes or so I used to see him in the morning. DH gets him up int he AM, gives him a bottle, gets him dressed and takes him to DC.
Weekends: I swing back to "normal" hours for the weekend. So on Fridays I only sleep from 8:30AM-noonish so I can sleep at night. I sometimes spend the afternoon with LO and pick him up earlier, or I use the afternoon to clean, run errands, appointments, etc. Then I sleep "normal" Friday and Saturday night so I can spend Saturday and Sunday during the day with LO and DH (I didn't want to sleep the weekends away!!). Sunday I try to nap when LO does in the afternoon so Sunday night (my work Monday) isn't so rough.
Hope this helps!
Got off work at 6, go home, get kids up by 7, nurse/breakfast i have 2 under 2, play until about 8, take them to daycare or DH does, sleep from 8301and get up to pump. Then back to sleep from 1430 at the latest, sometimes I get up at 2 or 3. Pick up kids by 530 and have dinner, baths and bedtime. Kids are in bed by 730 so I have some time to myself.
I see DH in the mornings, evenings and when he is off. Our kids go to daycare MF even when our days off are on weekdays. We reconnect during those days.
While I guess it isn't an issue for you, I work Friday nights then stay up most of Saturday and then have to work Saturday, and stay up again most of Sunday. That's the only hard part.
I don't mind it, but if you pump it can be pretty annoying.
I work rotating shifts - 3 months of nights (5:45p-5:45a) and 3 months of days (5:45a-5:45p).
When I am on nights, I try to come home and sleep until 12/1, which gives me 5-6 horus of sleep and then spend the time with DS before I go back to work. Sometimes, depending on how well I sleep, I sometimes sleep later. It just really depends on the circumstances. We are very lucky to where DS goes to MIL's house, which is also 4 houses down from us.
DS is also on a little later schedule than a lot of kids. He is in bed around 9:30/10pm and up around 9:30/10am. It works really well for us when I am on days also.