Overnight Shift

I used to work a rotating shift with 10pm-8pm shifts for 4 weeks on and 6 weeks off. I dont' think you can ever get "used to it", but it is do able. I do suggest getting a routine & sticking to it. And please do NOT think you can survive with a couple "naps" to get through the day/night. Set a block of time 6-8 hours and sleep, as someone else mention, tell your husband this is your "night time" and do NOT disturd u unless the house in on fire! When I first started working nights I felt "guilty" sleeping while the kids were awake/home, so I would cut my sleep short to be with them, this was bad, I was mean and very grouchy!! I soon realized it was better to sleep a little more, spend a little less time with the kids, but at least it was happy times with the kids!
You mentioned your husband will be working saturday until 2, You should plan on sleeping 3-10pm with no interuptions. I also discovered if I took a little nap when I got home, then tried to sleep later it never worked, skip the little naps for the longer strech in the afternoon.
And, for the first night (friday night) I would spend my Friday as usual, then after dinner around 6pm I would take a 'nap' 6-10, that would usually hold me over pretty good, if I tried to nap earlier in the day when the kids naped I would still be tired at bed time, the later evening nap always worked better for me, expecially in the winter when it's dark at 5:30!
and one last tip... make your room DARK, I always put up extra sheets/towels to cover my windows and that really makes a big difference, and I love the ear plug idea someone mention, wish I would of thought of that!

ok, I have 5 kids and have worked 8 hr and 12 hr shift overnight for many years. 3 days a week will not affect you that much. Keep your normal routine thru the week, take a longer nap on Friday, and nap from the time your husband gets home till you have to get ready for work. then Saturday take a shorter nap if you can early, otherwise sleep from the time hubby gets home till you have to get up and ready. Sunday just take a long nap, (like 4 hours) but not too long cuz you want to sleep sun night, and that will give you a decent amount of family time also. So bless your hubby, but you need to be very clear with him......"this is my sleep time, you are responsible for the children, do not wake me unless someone needs an ambulance or the house is on fire".

Good luck, my former husband could not, and still can't be in the same house as me without coming to ask, tell or show me something. So for years I did the night shift by myself with a sitter for overnight and 2 1/2 hr preschool 2 days a week with a 2 on, 2 off, 3 on, 2 off, 3 on, 2 off. 12 hrs, before that I did 8 hr shifts 4 days a week and every other weekend. It was really nice when they were in school (older kids before little ones came along), That was some nice sleep.

You may want a dark room but earplugs may be the best investment, b/c you may be able to keep you own house quieter, but the outside noise of the neighbor mowing, etc, will annoy the **** out of you.

I did they 11pm - 7am shift about 15yrs ago before kids, so it was a bit easier. The only problems I had was on the days off it was hard to go back to a normal schedule.
Monday-Friday you will have to go back to a normal schedule, and that will be hard on your body. I only did this schedule for about 6 months. It was rough, and I had no kids at the time.

Also, I found that when I had my food break ( not exactly lunch at 2am) I had to eat breakfast foods not lunch foods. My stomach gave me trouble if I tried to eat a hamburger.

Just wanted to reiterate what several others have said about making the room dark. You wont notice the importance for awhile especiallly if you dont have any trouble sleeping when it isnt dark. I actually prefer to have the lights on all the time - even when sleeping. I dont mean a nightlight, I mean the main center light bright as day. But your body doesnt shut down correctly when there is light. After 6 months of "sleeping" with the lights on (and I did think I was sleeping through the night), I had so little of the "good" REM sleep that I was getting confused, tired all the time, losing little bits of memory... it was pretty scary and took me awhile to figure out what was going on (doctor even said I had Fibromyalgia, but he was wrong!). So now I put my lights on a timer - they turn off sometime after I fall asleep and come back on a little before I am supposed to wake up. That way I feel like I am sleeping with the lights on but without the side effects of actually sleeping with the lights.

Working nights (which I did all through college, and is probably why I like having the lights on when I sleep - reminds me of the sun like I used to sleep during the day), its easy to just crash into bed or think the sun coming through the shades is not a big deal or even "pretty" with the soft glow around the window with the curtains drawn... But you really should sleep in as pitch black as you can get. If you dont, it may take awhiel to notice, but you will be even more tired and the sleep you do get wont be what your body really needs. If nothing else, get a good dark thick sleep mask (which I surprising really liked once I got used to it). They make a memory foam one sold at walmart that has molded eye cups so you can blink easily and the memory foam conforms to your face to get all the little corners... its only about $5 and is sold near the luggage and travel stuff. Definitely worth it!

Good luck :) I loved working nights at a gas station in college - was like getting paid to have time to do my homework!

I also will be working overnight some on the weekends and have a 3month and a 3 yo. I plan on taking a couple of hour naps before and after my shift, and then just toughing out the sleepiness as the day goes on. We can do it, after all, we're used to not much sleep anyways w/ a 3 month old!! :) Don't worry, your body will adjust if you set your mind to it. I worked nights several years ago and did fine adjusting. We gotta do, what we gotta do for the kiddos--no day care for mine!!

I haven't worked this shift but my husband has and he says that the hardest thing for him is getting decent sleep when the sun is out. Try getting blackout shades for your room if you have the same problem. Good luck!