AIBU to ask how much sleep you get per night if you work and have children?

[Mumto2uk]

After getting everything ready for the next day, most nights I don't get to bed until 11-11.30pm and then up at 6am for work. Being up in the night with the toddler suffering from nightmares isn't helping. I'm lucky I have a supportive husband who does his fair share when not working (works very long hours). I'm always tired though and struggle to get through the day. Am
I just moaning? Genuinely interested in how much sleep others get. Thanks for your replies x

About 6 hours. Not enough.

Usually 1am - 4.15am. I don't need to get up at 4.15 but either wake up at that time and the few times I have slept beyond 4.15 someone usually wakes e up by 5am. My alarm is set for 6.30.

I would love to be able to sleep through as it is killing me and go through the day like a zombie

I get about 6 hrs (12.30 - 6.30) on week nights and maybe an extra half hour on weekend nights but the kids get up at 7am regardless (4 yr old twins) even if we've been out/ had them up late the night before. I nap though, which my husband doesn't seem to need but without it I am like a zombie. Some days just ten minutes when he's bathing the kids, other evenings half an hour or more after the kids go to bed at 7pm ish. Then I can do ironing, cleaning, packed lunches and whatever else needs done and it gives me a second wind. During the day I drink A LOT of caffeine and I was mortified recently when my boss said he could tell I was pretty much permanently tired ( he hired me knowing I had toddler twins so that's on him really!). I've always loved my sleep but the silver lining is that so do my kids and sleep 12 hours straight through, have since tiny, except where bed wetting occurs, rarely now (potty training nearly killed me). It has put me off having more kids though as I find the exhaustion of parenting & working full time quite drastic; swear i've aged ten years in the last 3!!

I work well on 6 hours - any less and I'm drained . Do have longer at weekends .

5 am always tired

I get up at 5 to go for a run so I aim to be in bed by 9. I work 730-430 though and it's only round the corner so I'm home for 445 so I still get an evening.

5-6 on working nights. Aim for 11 bed 5 am wake

Work 8-5. Bed at ten, up at 6 so eight hours. I exercise a lot too.

This is making me realise how much sleep DP and I get. We go to bed at 8:30-9, I wake at 7:00 and he wakes at 4:30. When I'm not pregnant I'm up at 5 but now I'm huge I just want sleep!

5-6 hours, broken by the toddler

I have a 9 month old who wakes frequently in the night and a three year old that likes waking at 5 or 6. I'm back at work 3 days a week at the moment but often have to work evenings. My husband is working all hours of every day. We both have our own businesses that we're trying to build up. The two of us are on our knees at the moment!

Have 9 year old, 19 month old and 8 week old. I work full time and DP is on leave for the baby.

Sleep roughly 11-4, then up and ready for work before the toddler gets up at 5. Play with her and do breakfast with her unail half 6 then leave for work.

3 nights out of 7 I do the baby's night feed too, but that's at around 3 so I just get up a it earlier, rather than try it to get back to sleep iyswim

Not nearly enough!

Probably about 6.5 - 7 hours but it feels like very little.

I'm someone who would sleep 9 hours a night without kids to feel normal though. It's what my body would do without alcohol or anything that would make you want extra.

I don't know but today I feel bloody exhausted. Maybe 7? DS who is 13 months is worse for night feeds than he was at 6 months!!! This morning at quarter to 6 he had a 25 minute breastfeed!! I'm trying to study but it can be hard to get in the zone when you are exhausted, despite good performance I can't see myself managing final exam in May. I work 2 days a week, soon going to be 3. I cook healthily but often succumb to the temptations of sugar and alcohol. I mumsnet too much when I could be studying or reading a novel. Struggle with indecision most days

Around 6 hours. I'm lucky that my job requires me to drink a fair bit of coffee so I survive!

Asleep 11 and awake 6.30. Thankfully my kids sleep through 7-7.

Our kids eat at the childminders and I collect them and home for about 5.30. They watch a cartoon, we play a game, bath them and supper by 6.30. Bed at 7.

After theyve gone to bed I make me and dh dinner; watch a bit of telly and have a bath.

I bulk prep uniforms sunday. Clean and and when.

How much downtime does your dh have?

Probably 6.5 but it's usually broken at least twice. I'm knackered and am stopping work soon.

About 6-6.5 hours. Kids sleep like a dream. My problem is I'm a Night owl and I find it really difficult to actually get into bed before 11 (more like 11.30) even if I've felt tired earlier in the day.
I get up at 5.30am mon-thurs, work full time and commute into London. On Fridays I usually work from home and have a lovely lie in until 7! But because I know I can I end up going to bed at 12.30 instead!
I'm in my 40s and I don't need as much sleep as I did when I was younger.

I've got a nearly four year old and nearly two year old and probably average about 5/6 hours a night? The older one is in our bed every night (which rarely bothers either of us) and the younger is beginning to have, what I can only assume, are nightmares and ends up in our bed maybe once a week? She's a bugger because she wriggles like mad in her sleep and is never comfortable. Those nights my sleep is very very broken, maybe 3 or 4 hours?

Frankly though I can't be too tired because I too go to bed about 11.30. I could go much earlier if I felt exhausted in the evening. Both kids are generally asleep by 8pm.

I don't know how you all survive on so little! I am going to sleep around ten, aiming for at least 8 hours sleep. I've always needed a lot of sleep and really feel it if I haven't had enough. One way and another I often don't get eight hours but in theory if DS doesn't wake too early I could get nine. That's very rare though

Ordinarily 6.5 but I have just started going to be really early (9.30pm) asleep by 10pm and awake at 6.20am and I am feeling greedy for more sleep. I am definitely functioning better and not eating so much sugar on 8 + hours per night

Usually go to bed around 10, asleep around 11. I get up just after 7. Dd is nearly 5, she wakes once in the night and climbs into our bed, so I wake for a few minutes to settle her and then we all go back of to sleep

I do evenings pt time and saturdays working so as I don't get in until 9.30 I dont sleep until around midnight.

I wake at 6-630 to get everything ready for school, then I do gym/chores, nursery pick up, play with DD/chores etc, get ready for work, pick up other kids, drop at mums for 2 hrs until DH gets there. He does bedtime and then Im home as above. So I generally live on 6.5 hrs (unless kids decide to wake and its broken - I get up as I do have daytimes)

I'm a life long insomniac. Even as a child I would be awake until after midnight and up at 7.
My eldest also has diabolical sleep patterns and would often still be awake after 12.
Now I sleep after 2, sometimes closer to 4 and up at 7:30
Work 35 hours a week in a physical job. Study at least 16 hours and full lp with no support at all.