Is dad no longer going to be in the picture? If so,I'd probably try to find a new job that allowed you to be home. That would be a lot for kids to go through.. a divorce and a dad no longer being in their lives.

Dad, or new job.

Fly parents in. Do a swap with your dh. Swap with other single/divorced parents. Nannies.

My ex will not swap days due to his work schedule. I travel about once every 6-8 weeks. I fly my mom in from out of town each time I go. It's a few hundred dollars in a plane ticket, but it's piece of mind that my kid is in great hands (and my daughter gets to spend special time with her grandma). My mom is amazing and comes every time I need her.

Anonymous wrote:Took a no travel job. In house accounting and operations.

This. I could never afford to pay someone to spend day and night with my kids n

Wouldn’t you work out a swap with their dad? A friend of mine has been able to do this amicably with his ex, they both travel occasionally.

I’m widowed and have to travel for work. In September I had to go away for two (non-consecutive, thankfully) work weeks. My mom came to stay at our house. She doesn’t drive at night, but I had sitters and friends lined up, even had a friend of mine offer to go cheer on my older one at a game. For each week I made an excel spreadsheet. Showed drop offs/pickups/activities, notes to kids about what to pack for activities, dinner info (my mom does not cook so I also prepped a lot of food the weekend before). Taped a copy up to my front door. A little stressful for my oldest, but they got through it.

I do my best to lend a hand to neighbors, friends, and parents of my kids friends—and when these travel weeks came up for me, they really were happy to have my back. I couldn’t do it without my village. So build a village for yourself, whether it’s informal, or through hiring a nanny/au pair, and certainly by trying to work things through with your STBX in an amicable way.

Took a no travel job. In house accounting and operations.

Nannies and sitters who have done this before . Ask other working single moms or working wives of deployed military with kids what they do and who they recommend. The second group often has great connections to other military wives who are experienced in doing this.

A friend took her DD with her until recently. The kid was “sick” a lot.

Also, with three kids it’s probably too much hassle to split them up at different houses, but your kids are old enough to do sleepovers at friends’ houses.

+1 to all above.

What the above posters said. But yes, there are nannies who will do overnights too.

Are you assuming that their Dad will not be in the picture at all? I work out a schedule swap with my ex when I need to travel. I cover for him and he covers for me. I do try to minimize my time away so that it’s not asking for too many favors.

Swapping with other single moms

Child free friend

I think I may be heading towards a divorce. Have three lovely kids who ate a bit older (10, 12, 14).

My job requires me to travel 2-3 times a year. What do single moms do about business travel? Are there nannies who will do occasional full tome care? My family is not local.