Visitation issue

The answers to your questions may turn on the terms in your order. Sometimes an order will say that if child care is needed during one parent's custodial time, the other parent has the right of first refusal to provide the needed care. But if your order does not include such terms (and many do not), or otherwise limits the father's right to choose a child care provider during his custodial time, then he can use an appropriate third party to provide child care. Either way, trying to have a parent held in contempt for a violation of a parenting schedule in a custody order is rarely (if ever) a good solution. Instead, a modification of the order based on his changed work schedule would be more appropriate. You should review your order carefully and see if he will agree to a reasonable modification. If he will not, then you may need to seek a modification from the court. Sitting down with a local attorney and talking about your situation and the terms of the order would probably be very helpful, even if you do not ultimately retain him or her to represent you.

Whether you have a legal basis to take the actions that you describe is unclear but it certainly appears that the custody and visitation schedule needs to be modified. Before filing a formal motion however, review your custody order in detail and see if there are provisions that address these situations, such as a "Right of First Refusal" provision. Certainly, if your Ex has custody and needs to leave for work early, it is his responsibility to arrange for proper day care or to deliver your son back into your custody. A Contempt motion may not necessarily be the best remedy becuase they are complicated, time consuming and it does not seem like he is actually in contempt. The better approach is to seek to modify the custody orders based on the new circumstances.