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monica
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| Posted: June 18 2009 at 2:43pm | IP Logged
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hi moms,
we are so thankful that my husband recently landed a good job. it is really the dream job for him right now, EXCEPT it is from 11pm to 7am. ouch.  we arent complaining as we know many drs, police, etc that keep crazy hours and we are very very thankful that he can work so i can stay home and homeschool.
i am wondering how other families have made this situation work. we have a small house, so me and the kids will have to tiptoe around in the mornings. i was thinking of just planning to be out of the house for a part of each morning. library, pool, friends houses and in the garden. any other ideas for keeping things quiet so he can sleep? probably the biggest hurdle will be our 3 yo who loves to jump on our creaky hardwood floors.
we are hoping that this job will open up opportunities to take the day shift when someone quits, but for now we are just thankful for Gods provision. 
monica
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ladybugs
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| Posted: June 18 2009 at 2:53pm | IP Logged
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My husband worked a graveyard shift when my kids were little (3,2,1 and newborn).
I remember trying to be out a lot and then home for naps.
Hubby would have dinner with us and help with the night routine if or he would have breakfast with us and sleep during the day only to wake when the kids were asleep. We had to try different things for this to work.
I only lasted about a year before I told him I didn't think I could do it anymore (I also had raging PPD, fwiw)....
So, that being said, I just tried to be out alot....
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Maria P
My etsy store - all proceeds go to help my fencing daughters!
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RamFam
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| Posted: June 18 2009 at 3:57pm | IP Logged
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My dh works evenings (3-11), so this might not be helpful, but we have shifted our schedule some to accommodate. The kids go to bed a bit later so they sleep in a bit. After having lots of guilt about having the kids up late, I finally decided that it was ok to do that because it was best for our family. And what's the hurt? They get plenty of sleep, it's just at slightly different hours.
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Leah
RamFaminNOVA
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KauaiCatholic
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| Posted: June 18 2009 at 4:00pm | IP Logged
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you've probably already thought of this, but eyepatches and earplugs for your dh, as well as heavy/dark shades in the bedroom, will help immensely. I'll lift up a prayer for him (and you, and especially the 3yo).
flexibility and patience (not to mention a sense of humor and plenty of coffee) are key ingredients for successful night shift families, IMHO. 
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 Viviane
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We can do no great things; only small things with great love. -- Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
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DivineMercy
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| Posted: June 18 2009 at 5:00pm | IP Logged
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I second Viviane with the earplugs and eye covers. My husband works the 11 - 7 shift in the hospital. These are huge in allowing him to sleep even with a squealing toddler!
Prayers for you and your family.
Michelle
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lapazfarm
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My dh works very irregular hours due to having one job that is 7pm to 7am (hospital), another with 24 hour shifts (helicopter rescue), and a third (part time) with day-time teaching duties. The poor man gets no regular sleep pattern, so we try to help him by being as quiet as we can when he is trying to sleep.It doesn't always work, though.
Definitely the black-out shades help. Being out helps, but that is so difficult with littles, I know.
I am actually hoping to get some tips from this thread too as we have yet to figure out what to do except pray for a day job to open up.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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JodieLyn
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Theresa with him changing around when he's sleeping so much.. have you looked into something like melatonin that would help him sleep whenever.. I know people use it for changing time zones.. I think you just take it a certain amount of time before you want to sleep.. but I've never used it so I'm not sure.
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: June 18 2009 at 6:19pm | IP Logged
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JodieLyn wrote:
| Theresa with him changing around when he's sleeping so much.. have you looked into something like melatonin that would help him sleep whenever.. I know people use it for changing time zones.. I think you just take it a certain amount of time before you want to sleep.. but I've never used it so I'm not sure. |
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Thanks! I'll look into that.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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Babs
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| Posted: June 18 2009 at 9:43pm | IP Logged
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Monica,
I am a nurse and when I worked night shift we found that our very loud bathroom fan worked very well to drown out most of the noise my boys could create. Honestly most of the time I was so tired I could have slept through anything. It is great that he found a job, things are so tough right now.
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Mimip
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| Posted: June 19 2009 at 2:13pm | IP Logged
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Monica,
My DH worked the 9 pm to 7 am shift for a while when I was pregnant with Baby # 4 and I know how tough it is. I also want to say that it really depends on how light a sleeper your husband is. My DH was a very light sleeper when he started but eventually just became a zombie and could probably have slept through a Cat 4 Hurricane 
Our #1 rule was that Dad got to bed ASAP when he got home. He would shower and go straight to bed after a snack. No time to dawdle because then you get a second wind and oh it can be bad. My littles understood that if Daddy slept right away they would get more time with him later.
We do have black out shades and he wore ear plugs until he got used to it.
I'll say a big prayer for you guys, I know how tough it is.
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In Christ,
Mimi
Wife of 16 years to Tom, Mom of DD'00, DD'02, '04(in heaven) DS'05, DS'08 and DS '12
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: advice for night shift families
