Husband Going on Business Trip

Hey L.,
My husband travels almost weekly. It was difficult at first, but we got used it. My son is 4 1/2 and my other is 13 months. When my husband is gone we try to go to my parents house for dinner or they will come here. Sometimes one of them will spend the night. Being around his grandparnets helps my son when his daddy is gone. The next best thing to daddy is grandparents right? Sometimes I take him over to Great Lakes Crossings on Wednedays. We do some shopping and then eat at Rain Forest Cafe. It is kids night. They have balloons, free face painting, clowns and much more. Kids eat for 1.99. It is something fun we do together when he is gone and it makes the fact that daddy is gone go smoother. It is also hard because he will be in Germany so I am unsure of the time change...But husband always tries to call around 8:00 to say goodnight to the kids and talk for a while. Hearing his voice even at 10months, will help with the distance. Hope some of those ideas help.

I don't have a traveling husband, but something my neighbor does when they leave their children for a few days is she goes to the dollar store and she finds fun things for each day. Then whoever is watching the children will hide the gift each day and the kids have to go and find it. They are all in bags labeled for which day they are to be opened. The last day is a bigger gift or something extra special. I don't know if anything like this would work or not.

Another thing you could do is give your husband a phone card and set up a special time for your son and him to talk every day or night. He can talk to his dad about the things he is doing in the pictures you are sending your husband.

I don't know if these ideas are helpful or not, but good luck. I'm guessing that as long as he and his daddy can talk at least a few times, he'll be okay.

Hey L. (it's C. from playgrp)... I saw this great idea from a kids show I was watching... The Dad was going to go out of town and before he left, he gave his son a "book" that will filled with pictures of Dad and Dad doing things with his Son... kind of a like a mini photo album but of just Dad or Dad with Son. So, you'd take pictures of Dad eating, of Dad reading to Son, of Dad sleeping, or Dad playing with Son, etc... blow them up into 8X10's. Then, when your son is missing him (or each night before he goes to bed) you can flip through the "daddy book" and talk about what Dad is doing, etc.
Another idea is to try to take this time to meet up with other family in the area and do an "over night" if possible (both of you) at a Grandparents? Good luck!

Hi L.,
I'm a single mom who used to travel when my sons were small and what I did was leave an 8x10 photo for them and call them everyday. With all of the new technology, you can see each other on the computer, too. Use this time for you and your son to get closer. When dad comes home, they can have their time alone. You will be just fine! My sons are teenagers now, (and I'm going through the change of life) and IT'S REALLY INTERESTING AROUND HERE NOW! Cherish these times before the cell phones, Facebook, Crushspot, puberty, and girls invade your peace!

L.,
When my husband has gone on business trips, he brings his laptop. We use a webcam and "skype" to do live video feeds. That way we could talk to and see each other daily. We would also call each other on our cell phones using our family plan so it is free. Hope this helps.
E.

Hi L.,

My husband is travelling quite a lot. Sometimes to Germany as well. I guess I will never get used to it since we are also very close and we don´t even have family here (they all live in Germany). Our little girl (20 mo) adores her daddy. She is asking for daddy to come home every day. :-)
When my husband is gone I talk about him ALL day long. I keep telling her that daddy loves her and he is thinking of her. I let her play with daddies shirt/keys/cap. I think she really understands that he needs to go and he will be back soon.
Of course we are on the phone as well. For webcam sessions there is unfortunately no time since my husband is in meetings all day long.
You could ask your son to paint a picture for daddy or to find a beautiful stone for him. I just think they won´t miss them so much when we "include" them into our activities.
Try to enjoy the nights watching a nice chick flick! ;-)
Melanie