Stupid work hours, baby sitting.

Anon Imperfect Mum

Stupid work hours, baby sitting.

Hi there!
I'm feeling trapped. My partner and I both work full time shift jobs. he works primarily overnights with every second weekend off so his son can come up and stay. we also have a 1 year old. Until now I've been giving my parents 75$ a week plus food and nappies etc to watch bub while our shifts overlap or my partner is sleeping as mum only has a casual job.
My parents have just told me they are going away for a month and I need to give 6 months notice for holidays at work- and when they get back they aren't able to help out as much.
My back up baby sitter is stuck overseas indefinitely due to passport issues and the local child care centers aren't flexible enough in their options to cater for my rotating roster. We can't afford to lose any hours at work and I just don't know what to do...... any ideas?
ty xxxx

Posted in:  Baby & Toddler, Kids

10 Replies

Anon Imperfect Mum

Just put them in daycare full time that way your hubby can sleep during the day like he needs to. It’s not like you only need a few hours and if hubby is awake when he should be sleeping that’s not gonna be good for his health nor for his OH&S expectations. bubs has gotta be missing out on vital things too especially if dad is tired and grumpy. Either that or look for a nanny/au pair that suits your needs. Your mum and dad don’t owe you anything and should be able to enjoy their retirement too!!

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Anon Imperfect Mum

hi :) thanks for all the advice. The real issue with the majority of these solutions is the unpredictability of my hours. while I get my roster for a 6 week period, that roster rarely comes out more than 2 days before it's supposed to start and in a week I could start anywhere from 6am to 11pm on any given day

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Anon Imperfect Mum

Have you thought about family daycare? Sometimes the Educators have more flexible hours, worth contacting your local council to enquire.

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Anon Imperfect Mum

Nanny, au pair. Often not as expensive as you think

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Anon Imperfect Mum

is the gov rebate available when using a nanny/au pair

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Anon Imperfect Mum

No, there's ways around it but pretty much the answer is no.

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Anon Imperfect Mum

Home day care. Ultra cheap and flexible. There should be many in the area just ask your local council :)

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Anon Imperfect Mum

In my area family daycare is more expensive than daycare centres

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Anon Imperfect Mum

Wow that’s interesting, in our council it’s $11 an hour BEFORE rebate :/

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Anon Imperfect Mum

We paid $114 a day before rebate. No flexibility you commit to the same days every week - no make up classes.

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