Working Parents & Childcare

My release weeks and my partner's quarterly planning keep landing in the same fortnight

gentle_quilt_3233

Every three months we both disappear at the same time. My delivery milestones and my partner's planning cycle fall in the same two weeks, and our 3 year old gets two tired parents and a lot of takeaway. We've just come out of one. He's been clingy at preschool drop since, which his teacher says happens. How do two-job households handle the weeks when you're both slammed? I'd like to plan the next one, in October, before it arrives.

6 comments

  • hazel_fern_2237

    my install weeks and my partner's audits did the same thing to us. what helped was splitting the fortnight not the days. first week my partner is on, second week i am. whoever is on does both drops and dinner no matter what

  • cobalt_lantern_6412

    My partner is a teacher, and the exam weeks are known a term ahead, so we block those first and plan my travel around them. Is your partner's planning cycle fixed each year? If it is, could you ask for your milestone to move by a week instead?

  • lagoon_chai_8977

    in those weeks we paid for extra help and stopped feeling guilty about it. a few evenings of a babysitter cost less than the fights

  • basil_compass_1539

    'Both slammed' for two weeks every quarter isn't a care problem, it's a calendar problem. One of you has to move a deadline. Who has more room?

  • pebble_spoon_291

    We're about to find out. My partner's year-end close and my client go-live are both in March, and our daughter will be just over one by then. Reading every answer here.

    • olive_diary_1554

      March is also when the school year ends, which made our crunch worse once our son started school. Worth adding to whatever plan you make.

    • gentle_quilt_3233

      Good luck with March ❤️ The thing we'll do differently next time: decide who does drop and bedtime before the fortnight starts, not every morning.

  • cobalt_trail_9136

    the clinginess after is normal i think. ours had a rough week after my assessment fortnight. took a couple of slow weekends to settle

    • gentle_quilt_3233

      That's reassuring. We're keeping this weekend empty for him and hoping it helps.

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