Ok Ladies.. tell the truth! Which shift is your favorite???

Geraldine - posted on 11/08/2010

I love for my hubby to work the grave shift. Maybe its just because I'm used to it. On days that he works I get the kids ready and they r in bed no later than 9pm. I at least get 5 hrs of sleep. When he is off, I can't sleep i'm so used to having the bed to myself. He has the television on and why do they have the need to have it so loud its a mystery to me. I dread the nights he is off and hope that they call him in for over time. I know that its selfish of me, but I just can't sleep when he is off; Now the good part about that is also that weekends when he works he gets home by 6am and could sleep till 12 or 1pm and he spends the rest of the day with us. We get to go out and spend some family time. Don't know what I would do or how I would like it if he went to mornings or afternoons for that matter..

Brittney - posted on 09/10/2010

Maybe my guy's schedule is a little different, because when he's working nights, I hardly see him at all! He goes in from 7pm to 7am, so he usually doesn't wake up til about 2 or 3, so by the time he's gets in a shower, and we get food on the table, he's gotta start getting ready for work at 6! I hate it! But I will admit, I absolutely LOVE the alone time every now and then!

Sierra - posted on 08/13/2010

I definitely prefer 1st shift, but since that won't happen for a while, night shift is best for us. My husband works 11am-7am, so that means we get to see him the whole afternoon and do things with family and friends a lot. But unfortunately our department is weird and he has the SAME 2 days off-Tuesday and Wednesday. I absolutely hate it and can't wait to get on a different department so we can have a rotating schedule.

Bekah - posted on 06/25/2010

My husband has worked nights since westartedd dating. He works 6pm to 6am on an alternating schedule. He has every other weekend off and I love it. It really works for us.

Nikki - posted on 03/08/2010

To be honest.. all the shifts my fiance works.. I find the best out of all of them. The real problem is not holding down the fort at home with the dog and almost 2 year old boy.. is that my fiance works his tail end off for pennies. Do any of you ladies have husbands that dont get beneifts? That work in such terrible run down areas that they just dont offer it? I mean, its not about me at home. We work wonderful together when he is here and he helps out as much as possible and when he does thats great. But 3 years full time working doubles 8 hrs off and another double just to get 3 days off in a row to spend with family is crazy!!! Being part time in a beautiful area and pay is double and better shifts.. were hoping and praying that the full time opens up and he has an opportunity.. its all politics and a waiting game. I can't wait for my fiance to get the position he deserves and we can all be at peace where he is. ♥

Holly - posted on 02/25/2010

My hubby works 3 pm to 1100pm. I would rather him work the morning. 7:00am to 3:00 would be great! I hate the midnight shift. I cant sleep when he is not here. Our son will be 3 in June and hopefully he will move to mornings soon! Helping out with the baby is nice!

Wendy - posted on 02/19/2010

Jessika, I feel your pain. But you'll get used to it. What you need to do is try to find the benefits in each shift, then as that particular shift comes around, you'll be excited for the new change. I like days because I get to spend evenings and nights with him, and he's home more to help the kids. I like graves because we still see him before work, but I still get a little mommy time at night that I wouldn't normally get.

Hang in there, you'll get used to it!

Jessika - posted on 02/19/2010

WOW...Reading some of these makes me feel like I'm being selfish...BUT I WANT MY HUSBAND!!

We are still in our first year of marriage and he is new to the department he currently works for so of course he's on the 11pm-7am shift. We have 3 children living at home 16, 4 and 7 months. When he gets home from taking the oldest to school he is in bed until supper is ready. Then up eating, watching TV and then it's off to get ready for work. I'm a stay-at-home mom and grateful for that opportunity but I feel like I do it all by myself. I feel like we don't get enough time together. And on his "2 days off" he still sleeps half the day because he worked the night before.

I know it sounds like I'm complaining but I really do miss my hubby!! And the kids do too!

Rebecca - posted on 01/23/2010

i like days because then he is home in the evenings to help with the kids we have 4 kids ages 13,10,9,18 months and a foster child 5. I work full time so with app. and all that i like days so he can helpout at night

Jamie - posted on 01/21/2010

Hubby is a State Trooper works 5 days on 3 days off...he's on evenings now 4-12 am which is okay - but he tends to sleep late.

I prefer days that way he is home for dinner/bedtime. I hate mids - I can never sleep in the house alone!

Rebecca - posted on 01/08/2010

When we first got married, my husband worked evening shift. He started work at the same time I got off, he came home when I was asleep, and I left when he was asleep. We only saw each other the evenings of his days off. It was the worst six months of our marriage (and that was before kids!)

Since then, he's been on days (6 am-4 pm) which coincides nicely with my teacher schedule. He was able to pick up the baby on his way home, and I we were both home to handle dinner, bath time, bed time, etc.

Our son is now 18 months old and my husband was just swapped to "morning watch" (9pm-7am). TOnight's his first time on this shift. While I've been trying be positive about this switch I am pretty nervous. I must say that all you ladies who think this shift is the best are giving me some hope that maybe I wasn't just blowing hot air being optimistic. Thanks for that!

Danielle - posted on 10/02/2009

I prefer the shift my hubbie is on now. He works 11am to 9pm. We live inside his jurisdiction so he is able to have dinner with us whenever I am off of work. He is also able to take the kids to school in the mornings, which he loves, and it works out really well with my work schedule since I do shift work.

Kathy - posted on 08/16/2009

2pm to 2am, that way he is there to help with the morning stuff before school and/or stop by the school to lunch with the kids and on the weekends he sleeps til the time the kids normally wake up and he is not all tired and grouchy!

Carey - posted on 08/11/2009

Graves! I get the remote control, and bed to myself! Plus, we also see him more. Swing shift is the worst because he goes to work when the kids are in school and comes home when they are asleep :(

Amanda - posted on 07/14/2009

I guess I always preferred days because with 6 kids the whole dinner and bedtime thing is hard. The best thing ever though was when my husband got the detective position, it's the best schedule ever (weekdays with every other Friday off!) and he also gets all holidays off which never happened when he was in patrol!! It's the best!

Heather - posted on 06/28/2009

I have to say that I loved nights. I hated it when he switched to days. Once he made detective, it was great. He is off all holidays, weekends and Mondays. He works 10 hr shifts 9a-7p. He is only on call twice a year. It sure beats our first pd. He worked 14 hour shifts each day, was always on call. All nights and never had a day off. I am really geting spoiled to the days. Of course our kids are 8 and 13 so when he did work nights they were not quite either.

Terri - posted on 06/15/2009

Now that my girls are older (15 and 13), I'm OK with nights. That said, it feels like he's not part of our lives... but sort of an "observer or helper" every so often. He likes nights best, which actually irritates me. Why would you like a shift that keeps you away from your family? He works 12's, and switches from days to nights every three months. The only plus is on nights he works, I feel like it's "my time" which is nice. I have control of the remote, which never happens. If we declare a "cereal night" there's no one to pitch a fit. *grin* (FYI, I work full-time for a University too.)

Stephanie - posted on 05/30/2009

I love the night shift. I feel like we still see him a lot and I get my own time after the kids are in bed. I think the only draw back is that the kids are not in school yet and it is hard to keep them quite while he sleeps until noon...try to get out of the house as much as possible on those days! I wish we had a scanner some nights especially when he's late and I haven't heard from him to say why. I love his job though and can't imagine him doing anything else.

Pamela - posted on 04/21/2009

My husband worked graves and swings for 8 years. It had it's pros and cons. When he worked graves we always had to keep quite so he could get the needed rest. I loved having the bed to myself though. When he worked swings, we never saw him. He now works the day shift which took about 3 months for us to get us to it. Now it has to be my favorite shift.

Jennifer - posted on 04/18/2009

I'M WITH YOU, BUT LOVE THE 12 HOUR SHIFTS AND NOW HE WORKS 8. PLUS IT IS A CHALLENGE TO KEEP THE LITTLE ONE QUIET. ON 8 HOUR SHIFTS HE WORKS EVERY WEEKEND...ON 12 IT IS EVERY OTHER WEEKEND.

Rachelle - posted on 04/16/2009

Quoting Tina:

I hate the grave shift. but he does 2 days on 2 dyas off and every other weekend is a three day. he sleeps until its about an 2 hours before he goes to work, gets ready for work and then leaves. we live an hour out with the crazy traffic. he also makes himself lunch or dinner what ever you call depending on the shift and then leaves it. wether he is coming or going. I feel like his maid on those days. I think if he wroked days it would be a little different. and we have a baby try keeping her quiet all day long so he can sleep. thenyou can never get the room cleaned bc somoene is always in it. and if you do run the vacum while thier sleeping that can wake them up plus we have 2 dogs they bark at people walking by. he ends up being gruumpy? i dont' know what would be better?

 

I agree with Tina, my husband changes shifts every 3 months now. Although he has worked the midnight shift for about 8 out of the 11 years we have been married. I absolutely cannot stand the days that we are home when he is sleeping. It is very stressful to me to try and keep the house quiet until he gets up. Between the kids and the phone and  trying to get some house cleaning done it just doesn't work. Now I must say during the week when I'm off to work and the kids are off to school or pre school it works out just fine, we leave before he even gets home and he's up when we get home. We spend a few hours together and then I get the bed to myself. I do like that part. He is on day's right now and it is different, I like it though. He leaves for work before I am even awake so I have my routine with getting ready and getting the kids ready down. My oldest rides the bus and I drop off the little one on my way to work, then he picks her up on his way home. We have the whole evening together. It's nice. I like the day shift the best, it's really the only shift that makes me feel like a normal family. The others make me feel like a single parent.

Kristy - posted on 04/14/2009

We used to have 3 12s, then the following week 3 12's and an 81/2. Loved it! Now he is M-F 8-5. It works because he is home at night, but I like the 12s a lot more. He was around more. Also, the 12s were at a resident post so his office was our living room. We saw a lot of him when he worked in the middle of nowhere.

Jessica - posted on 04/14/2009

Right now, I prefer days. My DH has a rotating schedule of 11 hr. shifts, so he will be on midnight or evening shift until June. Nights are rough for us b/c he usually leaves before we get home in the evening and gets home after we leave. On his days off, he really tries to make an effor to get up after the boys afternoon nap so he can get at least some day light activities in with the boys. One positive about him being on nights is I do get to watch or do I want after the boys go to bed.

Carly - posted on 04/11/2009

I have to say that I like the day shift much more although he likes the night better! Here in Laramie its a 7 to 3ish days and a 3 to 12ish nights. Of course there is on call shifts and such but I find it so hard to give him the quite he needs to stay asleep in the morning. This was an even bigger challenge when he was a Deputy working graves in california! I have three kids 7, 5 and 3. Josh comes home from days pretty much the same time my 7 yr old gets home from school. I find this is a good shift for the kids as much as me! They get more time with him! The nice thing about WHP is that they are on rotating shifts! so even though I dont like nights, I always have a light at the end of the tunnel!

Sammi - posted on 03/03/2009

Day shift is preferd but he has only been on for 2 years. So overnight is the best. He was on 2nd shift for 2 week and he had to move back to overnights. 2nd shift is the worst!! It felt like he was never home. Now that he is on graves... he wears earplugs and a facemask when he sleeps.

Courtney - posted on 02/27/2009

Wendy - I am totally with you! My favorite shift is Graves for many of the same reasons you posted. I like to watch what I want to watch on TV, we se him in the evenings before he goes to work, he can attend the kids after school activities, and probably the most selfish reason.......I can shop all night and he never knows what clothes I bring into the house........or even shoes!

Julie - posted on 02/27/2009

I prefer the grave yard shift, so I can have time to myself (no kids included). The best part is we get to see him twice a day in the morning where he helps get the youngest off to preschool while I ge the other two off to high school and jr high. Then we see him in the afternoon before we're off to sports and dinner. And like many of you I can watch my favoritw shows!

Megan - posted on 02/26/2009

My hubby works nights- 4 10-hour shifts. So I hear ya- I get used to sleeping alone. Mostly because even on his nights off, I am ready to turn in early and he comes to bed super late. Only thing is, I went back to work full time, Mon-Fri 8-5. He works evenings on wed-sat/sun morning. I don't get to see him on the weekends. I try to stay out of the house so he can at least get some sleep, however, it's my weekend too! So I want to stay home, but I always feel bad because Aric, 7 mos., wakes him up constantly (we live in a 2 BR apartment). And I'm having issues dealing with the fact that my weekends are not "weekends" like sleeping in for example. I'm still up early as ever with our little early riser!! Ah, motherhood. I should just stop fighting it and go with the flow. After all, they don't stay little forever!

Megan - posted on 02/26/2009

My hubby works nights- 4 10-hour shifts. So I hear ya- I get used to sleeping alone. Mostly because even on his nights off, I am ready to turn in early and he comes to bed super late. Only thing is, I went back to work full time, Mon-Fri 8-5. He works evenings on wed-sat/sun morning. I don't get to see him on the weekends. I try to stay out of the house so he can at least get some sleep, however, it's my weekend too! So I want to stay home, but I always feel bad because Aric, 7 mos., wakes him up constantly (we live in a 2 BR apartment). And I'm having issues dealing with the fact that my weekends are not "weekends" like sleeping in for example. I'm still up early as ever with our little early riser!! Ah, motherhood. I should just stop fighting it and go with the flow. After all, they don't stay little forever!

Angela - posted on 02/24/2009

I wish! He goes to the gym after work (7a) and then goes to bed for 8-10hrs! Me and our 6month old have to be quite so daddy can sleep- At least we try! by the time he gets up it's almost 7p i'm running around making dinner as he's watching tv (catching up on whats going on) he eats, goes on the computer and gets ready for work!



I like 3-11p. He's home all day and can sleep when we do....he has an almost normal life!

Ann - posted on 01/29/2009

Right now we are a young family so the morning 6 - 3pm is a godsend.  Its the teacher schedule. I hold down the fort with my 3 year old and 8 month old. And when he comes home they are all his. But the 9 pm lights off took some SERIOUS gettling used to.

Kellie - posted on 01/28/2009

I don't know if you are all from America here but I live in Scotland and find my hubby's shifts quite good. He does 2 days, 2 backs (3pm - midnight) and 2 graves then is off for 4 days. It's good because I get 2 nights with him helping with the kids, 4 night peace and quiet but help in the day and 4 days with all of us together. I wouldn't say I have a preferred shift because it's nice to have the mixture in a week.

Jessica - posted on 01/28/2009

i prefer nights as well.  They switch every 8wks from days to nights and his shift is from 5-5, so when he is on days he goes to bed so early and I can't lay in bed and watch TV before I go to sleep.  Plus he snores and I like sleeping in the bed by myself.  The only problem with nights is that on thw weekends when I'm off he sleeps all day and I have to go to bed fairly early because I have to get up with the baby.

Lynette - posted on 01/26/2009

Hi! My husband is a State Trooper- his district works 4--10 hr shifts per week.

They rotate from days to nights every 56 days and switch days off every 28 days. He either has M-T-W off or F-S-Sun off.

As for my favorite-it has changed over the years-he has been a troop for 11 yrs. Our daughter is 8 and in the last year and a half has started to voice her opinion about when Dad is home-she would prefer he be home during the evening. I really like the day shift better now-we get to hang out in the evening for dinner and such. I work from home so when he is sleeping during the day-I'm working- and when he is working during the day-I'm working. The really nice thing is that on his days off during the week we can do things together if he is not working.

I agree about trying to keep the house quite- I used to be really uptight about that, but since our daughter has gotten older I don't worry as much. Its fortunate that my husband can pretty much sleep through anything! My suggestion is to go with the flow and try to teach yur children to think about how they would feel if they were sleeping and someone was making a bunch of racket-that seemed to work well on Emma!

Heidi - posted on 01/25/2009

My husband works nights. 4 10's, usually Fri -Mon 7pm -5 am. It works well for us. I stay home (mostly I'm a volunteer EMT in our town and I teach First/Aid and CPR classes) and homeschool the kids. We school year round at 4 days a week. This allows us to take Sun. and two days off in the middle of the week to match his days off. I like the nights and have my own schedule when he's working. The kids do school in the morning while he's sleeping and that usually works without too much noise.

LeAnne - posted on 01/21/2009

I worked rotating shifts for 7yrs and hated it, even though at the time I didnt have any kids I never really had a routine to get anything done because it always seemed that when I was on nightwork I had to spend my days at court. For the last four years I have been working steady days 8am-4pm and love it, I'm home with the kids at night, have a family dinner and spend time with them before bed. At least now I have a routine that I can live with where everyone is happy especially my husband who is not on the force.

Audrey - posted on 01/20/2009

DAYS! DAYS DAYS! I want my husband here for dinner and bedtime...I can't sleep without him next to me...I tried it for 10 years and don't think I ever slept more than 4 hours at a time.

When he works days 7am-3pm he is here in the morning, after school, for dinner and at night to spend time and help with everything...when he worked nights I felt like a single Mom...we NEVER saw him :(

Jenn - posted on 12/18/2008

I definitely prefer the midnight shift. Like so many others, I am used to having the bed all to myself and it's hard to sleep when he's home at night. He works midnight-8am and has an hour drive, so I am gone before he gets home in the morning and he has a nice quiet house to fall asleep in. He usually wakes up around 3 or 4 just as I am getting home and then we have the rest of the evening together as a family. He is there for dinner and bedtime which is helpful.

Melanie - posted on 12/18/2008

Hello everyone!! My husband has always worked the nite shift 7pm to 7am. My house is never quite during the day with a 2 & 5 year old. My boys are in bed by 7:30 so the day shift would be to difficult. I know what would happen he would get home and wind them up before bed!! My husband likes the nite shift more stuff to do I guess!

Coral - posted on 12/17/2008

I wouldnt know. My hubby has only worked nights since he's been a cop. 7 yrs. I know I like the "evening"(5pm-3am) over the "grave yard"(10pm-8am) shift because he atleast is up for a little while during the day with us. I really would like him to work days so we can go to bed together other then his days off and eat dinner together. The evening shift is where all the "action" is though so he doesnt want to make the switch. I dont blame him he is awesome at what he does.But it would be nice to see him a little more.

Jennifer - posted on 12/10/2008

Hi ladies! My name is Jen & I'm totally new here. My DH is a State Trooper & we have the pleasure of rotating shifts. 7 days of day, 7 nights of grave, 5 days of late, a split week of 3 day & 3 late, & then we start all over again! Favorite? Day for sure. It's 6a-2p, so he's home for the rest of the night & we get to spend a lot of time together with our 7 month old baby girl.

Tamara - posted on 12/09/2008

The one he's currently working and has worked for going on 7 years.. the day shift. Unfortunately he goes in early in the morning but he is home every night by 5 pm except on holidays, parade weekends, etc. The hardest part is travel time.. he has an hour and half commute in each direction to & from work which he does via railroad.

Rebecca - posted on 12/08/2008

ahhh, yes. trying to keep kids quiet while hubby is trying to sleep is a challenge. i usually make more noise trying to keep the kids quiet then they make with out me interjecting. i will try to go out for a few hours to do errands or things to give him a few hours of quiet sleep. he's gotten used to the noise now though, so it may just take him a while to get used to the noise. Tina,keeping an infant quiet is impossible so he just needs to understand that you are doing your best. I understand completely about not being able to do house work. I just do the quiet house work while he's sleeping; laundry and such. The vacuuming will just have to wait. It takes a while to get get a good routine down. Unfortunately chances are as soon as you get into a groove his shift will change and then you will have to find a new routine. Hang in there!

Nicole - posted on 12/07/2008

I hate the grave shift. but he does 2 days on 2 dyas off and every other weekend is a three day. he sleeps until its about an 2 hours before he goes to work, gets ready for work and then leaves. we live an hour out with the crazy traffic. he also makes himself lunch or dinner what ever you call depending on the shift and then leaves it. wether he is coming or going. I feel like his maid on those days. I think if he wroked days it would be a little different. and we have a baby try keeping her quiet all day long so he can sleep. thenyou can never get the room cleaned bc somoene is always in it. and if you do run the vacum while thier sleeping that can wake them up plus we have 2 dogs they bark at people walking by. he ends up being gruumpy? i dont' know what would be better?

Angela - posted on 12/06/2008

I too also prefer nights. My husband has worked the same shift for 7 1/2 years, we have 3 kiddos and I LOVE OUR ROUTINE. I also am in law enforecement so it helps with my schedule too. It's nice to have my wuiet time at night when the kids are in bed and he's working.

Rebecca - posted on 12/05/2008

I'm with you, I prefer the night shift. I feel like we see him more. He works 12hr shifts 3 nights and then off for three nights. My husband has been on this schedule for just about 4 years now. If he ever goes back to days I'm not sure I will adjust well to sharing the bed with him at night every night. I've gotten very used to having the bed all to myself for those 3 nights. The shift I hated and will do everything I can to protest it ever happening again is the M-F 9-5 desk shift. When my husband worked in the chiefs office doing media press releases. I hated it! He was always gone, either working or being called into work because someone would decide to rob a bank or something of that nature right when we would be ready to do something as a family on the weekend. We also took a huge loss in pay due to the lack of overtime that he could work. It was near impossible because of his normal schedule and we rely on that overtime because I don't work. I don't know if I could listen to a scanner while my husband is at work, I prefer to find out after the fact when I can hear him tell me about what has already happened.