When Tony works the overnight shift, his personal prayer time … I understand the challenges of fitting in exercise, maintaining relationships and getting enough quality sleep, but I'm excited to show you that it’s possible to do shift work and still thrive. I mean if you're adding all that up, then you see that we only ever saw each other for several hours a week & poor Coop, maybe 5-6 hours. Be honest about your situation. Don’t focus on the time of day and rather the time you’re spending together. Working as an honest, transparent team with your support network and treasuring the time you do spend together makes managing family life and the 2nd shift possible. I once heard a nursing mom say, “I feel like a married single mom.” In a partnership you never want your partner to feel like this so make sure you’re a strong team, appreciating and reassuring each other when times are tough. If you and your spouse/partner want it bad enough you will make time and you will find a way to make the 2nd shift work with a family. While your roster may be all over the place, the rest of your family is likely functioning on the traditional 9-5 Monday through Friday routine. A Practical Guide For Busy Parents. Whatever time you have available on Friday night till Sunday evening – use it wisely. We thrived off that family time! Always stay on the same team with your partner and match each other’s priorities. I remember saying to Dan while working a bunch of 2nd/late shifts in a row…“We feel like ships in the night”. I know Sunday is also NFL day for the fans of American football, but don’t spend every single weekend watching the game live. Related post: Shift Workers Guide to Valentines Day: Work and be Romantic. This will eat you up and cause more problems. My husband is a brewer, and he's worked third shift for a handful of years now. It can work AMAZINGLY well to keep the love alive too, as silly as this sounds. – Avoid visiting the take-out store on the way home – even though the cravings are intense! I simply don't have enough ppl in the small dome to fill uo one shift so much. I was just talking to a friend about how her husband does overnights instead of 2nd shift and it's better. Short periods of rest will help keep your energy high, but be sure not to sleep too long or you’ll risk making yourself groggy. Also, remember to ALWAYS check your payslip and report any issues quickly. There is no “one size fits all” handbook. Where possible, walk around your workplace or do some deep stretches to help get your blood flowing. To get the ball rolling and to prove my point, I wanted to give you a list of the pros of working 2nd shift with a family. You can use special stickers and even leave sticky notes for them to read once they get up. Pros and Cons of Night Shift vs Day Shift. I have broken this post into four parts which you can click on to access the area you want. Hey y'all! Check out this post we wrote, which actually targets single parents, but has some great information about finding help. Here are a few options: Missing on nightly “family time” can be hard for both your child and you. It might be more effective (in some cases) for one person to sleep while the other gets the kids ready for school, then swap the following day. The other option could be On the Go Tote, Double Electric Breast Pump also from Amazon.com. This Hands-Free Pumping Bra from Amazon.com is HUGELY popular and worth a look. But you could be in the third category where you’ve elected to work the second shift for a number of personal reasons but now it’s testing your relationship and family unit. Like you’ve come from one job to the next without a break? I know that many jobs are different & sometimes make you work crazy hours but unless your spouse has ever been on second shift, then you have no idea how incredibly hard it is to have a family life. It was so rough, at first! Getting a secret note from mom or dad which none of the other kids receives makes your bond incredibly strong – even if you don’t get to spend much time with them during the week. Surviving Second Shift As A Family by Whitney Pegram - Wednesday, November 15, 2017 Are you wondering why Monday was such a big day for our little family?? How to Survive the Night Shift The extent to which human circadian rhythms can adapt to a night shift is not known. Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links, meaning we receive a commission if you decide to make a purchase through our links, but this is at no additional cost to you. Third shift horror story for ya. When typical daily rhythm is thrown off balance, so too is metabolism. The second shift is a necessity and often very busy in industries such as nursing, film production, medicine, hospitality, customer service and security. Here are some helpful tips for making 2nd shift work AND having a baby. Such as how many kids you have, do you work weekends, travel distance to work, relationship status, etc. I’m not going to lie, working the 2nd shift while having a family is hard and it’s not easy by any stretch of the imagination. The key to surviving the night shift is to just take care of your body, Dailey says. 11 Truths Uncovered, 6 Healthy, Freezable Shift Work Meal Ideas for Beginners , What Should I Drink on Night Shift? While the mornings are often not “special bonding times” and are more a “controlled storm” as I once heard it described, it allows you to work as a team with your partner/spouse and spend extra time with your kids you didn’t have before. A Practical Guide For Busy Parents. I think it's safe to say that we are all so happy to be on the other side of it!