do you do most childcare yourself?

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-24-2003
do you do most childcare yourself?
11
Fri, 12-17-2004 - 10:13am

thought i'd start a poll/thread:


my dh works long hours & can't stop by the house due to commute---so i do it all myself.


anyone else?

 Katrina

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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2004
Fri, 12-17-2004 - 10:53am
I do it all by myself when my husband is gone for 3 weeks, but he does it all when he is home for 3 weeks. So I am half and half

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Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 12-17-2004 - 4:39pm
My dh is usually gone until 7:30 or 8 most weeknights but then his "job" is to get the kids ready for bed so he can spend some time with them. Otherwise, it's all me. He's pretty good at taking over some stuff on the weekends too, like taking ds with him to run errands or fix stuff.

Jenny

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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-05-2004
Sat, 12-18-2004 - 9:25am
Hi
My husband usually works from about 8- 6, then works from his office here until about 10! He's really great about taking over when he gets home from work. Him and DS sit in his office and talk and play games while he's working. Then on the weekends, I usually go shopping and he usually has DS the whole time :) It's a great break!
Katie

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Registered: 04-09-2003
Sat, 12-18-2004 - 2:47pm

I do most everything myself. I am very lucky at the moment that we can afford to send Maggie to a sitter 2 days a week. She goes to Marys house and plays with other kids and loves it. But if we ever need to cut cost that will be the first to go. I love getting that break for my sanity. On days that she does not nap by the time dh gets home at 7 I am ready to loose it. Maggie does not usually go to bed until 10 or 11 so sometimes he will put her down if she will let him. On the weekends he tries to give me an extra hour of sleep and gets up with her in the morning. But I tell you if he had to take care of her for a week who knows what she would be eating or wearing LOL.


Sarah and Maggie

Sarah

Avatar for flower28
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Sat, 12-18-2004 - 11:08pm

Yup - I do it all myself...and I mean all. My husband usually leaves before my 2 kids wake up and gets home at or after dinner time. We can't afford to have sitters during the week, so it's just the kids and me. I do the cooking, the cleaning, all the laundry, the bills, the errands...I even take the trash out twice a week! My husband will help with bath and bed time - but we do it together.

Does that situation make anyone feel better about their situation?

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-18-2004
Sat, 12-18-2004 - 11:55pm
YES!! My husband works 12 hour shifts from 6am to 6pm 5 days a week. Sometimes I just feel like its another person to take care of. I love him dearly and we have a great marriage but with 2 kids (2&4) who go to bed at 8:00 that means Supper is on the table when he walks in because we have 2 hours to eat supper, clean up, give baths, read stories and go to bed. And thats if nothing is going on that night. And his days off are usually just catch up days. Yea, it gets frustrating... especially when people start talking about all this "me time" .... I know I need it but I can't find all these babysitters people keep talking about? LOL.
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-24-2003
Sun, 12-19-2004 - 4:47pm

Yup! That would be me. My DH works 12-14 hr. days. Usually 13 hrs. every day.


When he's home it's a rush to eat, shower, check renovations on the house. I will have to find these elusive reliable babysitters too! I'll let you know when I find where they are!


 Katrina
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-04-2004
Sun, 12-19-2004 - 8:35pm

I do all of it during the day when DH is at work... In the evenings we share- I always get 'my time' (an hour long bubble bath ;) and he gets 'his time' (computer) and other than that- we just do what needs done according to whoever has their hands free at the moment... On the weekend DH takes alot of the childcare- he lets me sleep in and get things done around the house etc. He loves playing with DS and enjoys that he gets to spend the time with him.

Wytchy

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Mon, 12-20-2004 - 12:23pm

I feel like I'm in a wonderful dream this month because DH is home and has been giving kids baths/bedtime routine in the evenings while I wash dishes, clean up, do some me stuff, etc.

Usually though-DH travels weekends for work (leaves Thurs. night & returns late Mon. night/early Tues. morning), he tends to sleep in and then works from around 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. this fall and it will be more like 7 p.m. in the spring on Tues. and Thurs. He comes home, eats, helps with the kids (bed is at 8 p.m. here) and then starts working again 1-2 a.m. On Wed. nights I take the kids to church and he simply continues working through that time so I would say I do the vast chunk of the childcare.

I do teach 1 class at a local college and we hire a student to watch DS while I do that and then DH watches him Wed. mornings but I can't imagine hiring a sitter while I do errands and stuff. We did have DD in preschool 5 mornings a week last year and we'll probably do something similar with DS.

So, I would say I do most of the childcare.

Taleyna

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-19-2004
Mon, 12-20-2004 - 7:24pm

DH works from 7am - 7pm, and since DD goes go bed at around 8pm, it's a rush to eat dinner, bathe her, feed her, then put her down. I do all the childcare during the day (I, too, haven't found any babysitters that are competent enough to help me), and when DH gets home from work, he bathes her and feeds her and puts her down. It used to be a trade-off as to who would put her down and I used to BF her, but it's evolved into this routine. I like it because I get a break in the evenings, but I take care of her during the day.

Melissa

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