A working couple take a day off from their baby every week to get a "guaranteed" good night's sleep and say it makes them "better parents".
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00:00We have a day off from our baby every single week, and let me tell you why it works.
00:05We don't live very close to any of our family, and our baby's grandparents live about an hour and a half away.
00:13When we were considering going back to work, or not considering, planning,
00:18part of our childcare arrangement was possibly for one of those grandparents to do a half day,
00:24if they wanted to, because one set of grandparents are retired.
00:28And they wanted to do this, and that then led on to discussions around, you know, the logistics of that.
00:34And in my head I thought, well, it feels like such a waste, not a waste, but a lot of time driving
00:41to not get so much time with Sophie, particularly when she naps and things.
00:46And so I floated the idea of a sleepover with them.
00:50A friend of mine actually does this, and it inspired me to do it.
00:54So they were really interested and keen to try the sleepover idea,
00:58and the way it now works is they pick her up from half day at nursery,
01:02and then they take her through to Ayrshire, where she stays the night,
01:06and then they bring her back through to Edinburgh, and then put her into nursery for the afternoon session.
01:11And what this essentially means is that we get a full night off every week,
01:16and a morning off for me, because I do all the job offers.
01:20I cannot tell you how much it impacts our week in such a positive way.
01:27And sometimes I think, is that really terrible that we have a whole night off every single week from our baby,
01:34and we're not being a parent for that time.
01:37But actually, the way it helps my husband and I refill our cup, we get to go to the gym,
01:43we get to give the place a whip around, we get to meal prep, we get to meal plan,
01:48we get to shower or bath and wash hair.
01:51I wash my hair.
01:53Plan out the week a little bit better, and it just really refills our cups,
01:58so that when we pick her up on a Tuesday night, we have the best time with her for the rest of the week,
02:04and we don't feel like bedraggled or that stressed.
02:07Don't get me wrong, obviously, we still feel stressed and bedraggled,
02:10but I think it just wicks out so much pressure,
02:15and just gives us a chance to catch up and catch a break on washing and things.
02:20Now, I'm not saying you should try to have a night off from your baby every week,
02:23but I'm just saying that it's maybe an option if you don't live super close to family,
02:28and it's really worked out for us.
02:30And yes, of course, we miss her. We miss her terribly.
02:33But she has a great time, and she's building her memories with her grandparents, and I love that.
02:40Anyway, I'm coming at you on my morning off, and it is delightful.
02:44I've just been able to curl my hair, get myself ready, tidy up the flat a little bit,
02:49and then I'm just about to head to work early so I can finish early to see my girl.